Harvest of the Ministry of International Cooperation at the annual meetings of the African Development Bank

Harvest of the Ministry of International Cooperation at the annual meetings of the African Development Bank

The “Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank” took place between May 22 and 26, during which theMinistry of International Cooperation sought to strengthen development cooperation between it and multilateral and bilateral development partners, as this Egyptian participation included concluding multiple agreements during the days of the conference.

Among the efforts made by the Ministry of International Cooperation is to strive towards development cooperation regionally and internationally, and henceDr. Rania Al-Mashat “Minister of International Cooperation” participated in the “Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank” that were held in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh, where the Minister sought to conclude effective agreements in the development field; With a desire to stimulate climate action and areas of sustainable development, so that Egypt can meet development priorities, and this is through implementing “Egypt Vision 2030”, which is the vision that achieves international goals in the areas of sustainable development.

Al-Mashat’s participation was fruitful, as initiatives were launched aimed at stimulating cooperation and sought to activate the “Novi” program projects, in addition to field visits, in which the Minister followed up on the progress of development cooperation projects in South Sinai.

Not only that, but the Ministry of International Cooperation had a presence in discussions that dealt with development efforts and ways to achieve international cooperation, where Dr. Rania Al-Mashat shared ideas and expectations with a number of high-level officials, including: the President of the African Development Bank, and the British Minister of International Development; It was then that the selection of the sewage treatment plant project in Al Jabal Al Asfar was announced. In implementation of this development project, a guarantee amounting to 80 million euros will be directed; To cover some of the financing provided by the African Bank, and this is to implement the third phase of the project.

It is worth noting that the Jabal al-Asfar sewage treatment plant project is the first project to benefit from the “Room2Run” guarantee, which is British support to the African Development Bank, and is worth two billion dollars. So that the bank can finance adaptation and mitigation projects on the African continent.

For all of this, Al-Mashat stressed the role and importance of Egypt’s relationship with the African Development Bank, during a discussion session she held with the president of the bank. The importance of the bank president’s announcement to strengthen partnership between Egypt and the bank in the field of water was also confirmed, and this is within the “Novi” program.

The meeting also witnessed a constructive dialogue about these future cooperative projects, as the Minister discussed work mechanisms within the framework of Egypt’s presidency of the NEPAD Agency. To transfer Egypt’s development experiences to the countries of the African continent, as well as discuss the preliminary procedures for the COP28 climate conference. So that the continent of Africa – and the whole world – benefits from Egypt’s presidency of the previous session.

In the context of the efforts made to stimulate “South-South cooperation”, a dialogue session was held under the chairmanship of the Minister, with the participation of Ms. Nardos Bekele Thomas, Executive Director of the African Union Development Agency, in addition to 50 representatives of development partners. The session revolved around ways to support cooperation between southern countries, and the session also included a discussion of strengthening tripartite cooperation in a way that stimulates development steps on the African continent.

In this dialogue session, Al-Mashat reviewed the steps of relevant development projects, including: reopening the “South-South Cooperation Academy,” where the Ministry of International Cooperation sought help from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and also including: organizing the “Egypt Forum for International Cooperation and Development Finance.” During the same session, the Regional Director of the World Food Program announced the provision of $100,000 to support the countries of the development group in southern Africa, where Mr. Mengstab Haile called for benefiting from development experiences, the most important of which are: the Egyptian presidential initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside, “A Decent Life.”

Among the important discussions held by the Ministry of International Cooperation were those that took place between Dr. Rania Al-Mashat and Mr. So Young Hong, Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of Korea, where both sides noted the importance of Egyptian-Korean relations, which have grown year after year, and stressed the priority of this cooperation to push development efforts forward. In these discussions, Al-Mashat pointed to the importance of formulating a cooperative framework and a joint strategy during the next five years.

On the other hand, the Minister – Dr. Rania Al-Mashat – discussed with the two Vice-Presidents of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: Mr. Konstantin Limitowski, the Bank’s Vice President for Investment Operations, and Mr. Ludger Schuknecht, the Bank’s Vice President for Infrastructure Investment and the Bank’s Executive Secretary. The discussion included the foundations of future partnership, and the necessity of establishing a cooperative strategic formulation between Egypt and the Bank, as this strategy helps implement joint work in several fields, and is compatible with the efforts of the Egyptian state and its endeavor to stimulate the role of the private sector on the path to sustainable development, in accordance with sustainable growth priorities.

Among the bilateral meetings was the meeting held by Dr. Rania Al-Mashat with Mr. Remy Rioux, Executive Director of the French Development Agency, in which she discussed the steps to develop the ongoing development cooperation portfolio. In another meeting with Ms. Alexia Latortue, Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury for International Trade and Development, she discussed steps to support relations between Egypt and America, where the Minister of International Cooperation discussed current efforts to develop multilateral financing institutions in the field of development. sustainable development between developing countries and emerging economies.

In conjunction with the annual meetings of the African Development Bank – Minister Rania Al-Mashat – in the presence of the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development – visited King Salman International University in Sharm El-Sheikh. It is a visit during which Al-Mashat follows up on the stages of implementing Egyptian-Saudi development partnerships.

It is worth noting that King Salman International University is a development model and a pioneering project targeting the development of the Sinai Peninsula, and it has two other branches: in Al-Tur and Ras Sedr. These two branches – in addition to the Sharm El-Sheikh branch – include 15 colleges and 56 programmes, and the total number of students in the three branches is expected to reach 5,000 students within the next year.

These previous efforts were not the only efforts made by the Ministry of International Cooperation, but the Minister delivered her speeches in a number of meetings, including the keynote speech she delivered in a discussion session on “Mobilizing climate finance to facilitate the green transition in emerging economies,” where in her speech she reviewed the most important aspects of the “Sharm El Sheikh Guide to Fair Finance.”

In conclusion of these efforts made by the Ministry, Al-Mashat participated in a session in which the joint initiative between the African Union and the African Development Bank was discussed. To launch the African Pharmaceutical Technology Foundation – APTF; To enhance Africa’s ability to produce medicines and vaccines, which is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the regional level.