The Ministry of International Cooperation announced the signing of 9 joint development cooperation agreements with the German side worth 160 million euros in many development sectors, including the development of technical education and infrastructure development, in the light of multilateral cooperation efforts to stimulate the state's agenda for sustainable development and 2030 and promote green transformation.
This was part of the United Nations Climate Conference COP27, which was chaired and hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt in Sharm el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November, and a continuation of the partnerships announced with multilateral and bilateral development partners in support of the National Development Vision and the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050, and the implementation of nationally defined contributions.
Rania Al-Mashat, the Minister of International Cooperation, and Sevina Schulz, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, signed the financial cooperation agreement between the Egyptian and German Governments with grants of 80 million euros to support the implementation of three projects in different sectors supporting competitiveness in the private sector, solid waste management, technical education, and vocational training.
Al-Mashat signed 4 funding agreements with Srustin Schneider, the Director of the Energy Sector for Cooperation with North African Countries of the German Reconstruction Bank, Frankfurt, worth Euro 57 million. The agreements are divided as follows:
The funding agreement for the financial support project for Egypt's comprehensive technical education initiative is worth 26 million euros for the Ministry of Education and Technical Education.
The project aims to support the establishment of 25 Egyptian centers of excellence and applied technology schools.
Funding agreement of Euro16.5 million and grant agreement of Euro2 million for the re-establishment project A funding agreement of Euro16.5 million and a grant agreement of Euro2 million for the rehabilitation of water channels project for the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation aimed at improving the efficiency of the irrigation system to contribute in increasing production as well as farmers' income.
The 12.5 million euro funding agreement for the education ministry aims to support the establishment of centers of excellence, including the rehabilitation of facilities, and the equipping of offices, workshops, and laboratories that allow the training of teachers in the surrounding areas.
In a related context, the Minister of International Cooperation, together with Dr. Alexander Solega, Director of GIZO's Office in Cairo, signed 4 operational contracts totaling Euro23 million in technical support grants, as follows:
The operational contract for the Nile Water Delta Management Program, in the amount of Euro11 million, for the Ministries of Housing, Utilities, Urban Communities, Agriculture, and Land Reclamation.
The program aims to improve the framework for effective water use and reduce water loss in irrigated agriculture of the Nile Delta, as well as strengthen drinking water management and sanitation and expand the application of successful methodologies and successful actions to reduce actual and commercial water loss.
The executive contract of the project to support e-government and innovation in public administration is worth 8 million euros. The project aims to support e-government applications, support the regulatory framework, coordinate digital transformation, and effectively manage official development assistance.
The operational contract for the participatory infrastructure project, valued at 2 million euros, for the Ministry of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities.
The project aims to improve the level of provision of infrastructure and basic services in the governorates in which the project is implemented through an integrated and participatory methodology and support local authorities at the governorate and neighborhood levels to implement infrastructure development projects in the target areas.
Operational contract for the capacity-building project through the development of infrastructure works in areas affected by illegal migration: in the amount of 2 million euros, for the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, where the project aims to increase employment and skills development through infrastructure development in cooperation with technical training institutes and Al Mej organizations.
Following the signing events, Al-Mashat convened a bilateral meeting with Schulz to examine the areas of joint cooperation within the framework of the State's development priorities and the position of ongoing projects implemented with Egyptian ministries and stakeholders; in addition to discussing Egyptian-German cooperation under the umbrella of the National Platform for Green Projects program "NWFE", and preparing for the Egyptian-German government negotiations for 2022.
Al-Mashat commended the joint political declaration between Egypt, Germany, and the United States to support the energy pillar of the NWFE program, which emphasizes the depth of Egyptian-German relations, whereby Germany allocates 250 million euros to support the platform, including 150 million euros in development grants and debt swaps.
The minister stressed the importance of the Egyptian-German debt swap mechanism and the accumulated experience of the two countries in the governance of this mechanism, noting the need to prepare a joint document on the governance of the debt swap program between the two countries, especially in this time when the world is reaffirming the importance of this mechanism to support developing countries and emerging economies in their efforts to overcome global crises, in order to share these experiences with other countries.
On her part, the German Minister commended Egypt's joint efforts and initiatives during the climate conference reflecting its concern for climate action and financing the transition to a green economy.
The ministers discussed preparations being made by the working groups of the ministry of international cooperation and the German federal ministry on the Egyptian-German government negotiations for 2022, scheduled for the end of November 2022, to agree once and for all on projects to be allocated from the German government's financial allocations to the Egyptian government for 2022.
The current development cooperation portfolio with Germany records 1.6 billion euros. through which 30 projects were funded in the form of concessional development funds, technical support, and financial contributions, they benefited many sectors, including energy efficiency and renewable energy drainage, irrigation, water support, solid waste management, migration, and labor market innovation in the private sector, technical education, vocational training, urban development, administrative reform, women, youth and social development. The total value of the Egyptian-German debt swap program is Euro240 million.
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