التعاون الدولى تستعرض أمام مجلس النواب جهود دعم القطاع الخاص

The Ministry of International Cooperation reviewed its efforts to empower the private sector, explaining that the total soft development financing packages and grants obtained by various sectors of the state and the private sector during the past four years amounted to about 38.8 billion dollars, from multilateral and bilateral development partners, through efforts that The Ministry, in cooperation with development partners and national bodies, in order to transform the national vision and various strategies of the Arab Republic of Egypt into tangible international partnerships on the ground, and to strengthen international partnerships for development within the framework of effective international and regional cooperation, development financing, and technical support, through institutions. International financing in a way that enhances the country’s efforts towards achieving the sustainable development goals and the 2030 Agenda*

This came during the session allocated by the Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives – headed by Representative Karim Darwish, and in the presence of Representative Tariq Al-Khouly, the committee’s representative, and a number of committee members – to discuss the budget of the Ministry of International Cooperation during the fiscal year 2024/2025.

The Ministry of International Cooperation explained that the total concessional development financing for the various sectors of the country amounted to $28.5 billion, while development financing directed to the private sector amounted to about $10.3 billion during the period from 2020 to 2023. These financing also diversify in the field of climate, development, and empowering the private sector, explaining that These financings are long-term and have easy interest rates, as the average interest rate on financings agreed upon over 4 years is about 1.6%, and the average repayment period reaches 18.6%, while grace periods reach 6.4 years.

The Ministry of International Cooperation indicated that these funds were provided by various multilateral development partners, namely the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the African Development Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Agency. MIGA, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, the Green Climate Fund, the United Nations and its affiliated agencies and programmes, the African Export-Import Bank, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Islamic Development Bank, and the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC), in addition to bilateral development partners, namely the French Development Agency (AFD). , Spain, South Korea, the Kuwait Fund for Development, China, Austria, Japan, the United States of America, the European Union, Germany, Canada, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, Switzerland, Italy, the United Kingdom, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, and the International Cooperation Authority. Japanese JICA, Dutch Development Bank, and German Development Bank.

Comprehensive economic development, social justice and good governance

The pivotal role of the Ministry of International Cooperation in enhancing cooperation with the United Nations in Egypt was touched upon, through the co-chairmanship of the Steering Committee for the Strategic Framework for Partnership with the United Nations for Sustainable Development (UNSDCF), which is the mechanism that organizes joint work between various national agencies and bodies from On the one hand, and all the agencies, programs and non-governmental funds in Egypt on the other hand, stressing that the private sector is one of the main pillars that intersect with the five axes of the strategic framework for partnership with the United Nations, with the effective participation of private sector companies, which support the state’s efforts to increase investment in various fields. .

“Hafiz” platform for financial and technical support for the private sector

To enhance the effectiveness of these efforts, the Ministry of International Cooperation launched the “Hafiz” platform for financial and technical support for the private sector, which works to bridge the information gap and enhance the benefit of private sector companies, whether large, small, medium or emerging companies, from the mechanisms and tools provided by all development partners.
It was noted that the Ministry of International Cooperation is cooperating with many development partners to implement technical support projects aimed at strengthening the capabilities of the Egyptian private sector and raising its production efficiency.

Partnership with the European Union

The Ministry of International Cooperation explained that the future cooperation document between Egypt and the European Union for the period 2021-2027 was approved in June 2022, to enhance cooperation between the two sides for the coming period, and that the coming period will witness more axes of cooperation in light of raising the level of relations between the two sides to the level of partnership. The strategy.
The Ministry of International Cooperation announced that the European Union will provide investment guarantees worth 1.8 billion euros to the private sector, and that the conference scheduled to be held at the end of next June will represent a qualitative shift in Egyptian-European relations with the participation of all financial institutions as well as the private sector, which will encourage investment efforts in Egypt.

Strengthening relations with Asia

The Ministry of International Cooperation indicated that it has undertaken many efforts to consolidate relations with Asian countries, including Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore and India, in addition to multilateral international financing institutions such as the New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
It was officially announced that Egypt had joined the New Development Bank of the BRICS. In her capacity as Deputy Governor of Egypt at the Bank, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, participated in the eighth session of the Bank’s annual meetings held in Shanghai, China, where she confirmed during her participation that Egypt had obtained membership in the New Development Bank, along with the major emerging economies that are members of the BRICS group. It enhances South-South cooperation efforts, and supports the efforts undertaken by the government to transfer expertise and development experiences in the field of international cooperation to the countries of the South, in a way that stimulates development efforts at the global level.

Egyptian-Chinese relations…and the debt swap program with Germany, Italy, and China

The Ministry of International Cooperation explained that Egypt and China are linked by historical relations that are a model of South-South cooperation, and have witnessed successive developments since 2014 with the support of the leaders of the two countries, when the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Agreement was signed. During the visit of Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, to the Chinese capital, Beijing, in July 2023, to participate in the first edition of the Global Action Forum for Joint Development, a joint memorandum of understanding was signed on the Global Development Initiative, which includes a clause about the two sides establishing a mechanism for consultation at the global level. The departments are working on formulating a strategy for development cooperation for a period of 3 or 5 years, which includes priority areas and projects. This is the first time that work has been done to launch an integrated strategy for cooperation between the two countries. In addition to focusing on the areas of health care, climate change, green development, and the digital economy, as well as discussing other projects that are consistent with the areas of the Global Development Initiative.
The year 2023 witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding of the first debt swap program of its kind with China, which is the first in the history of cooperation between Egypt and China, as well as the first that China signed with other countries, in light of the Egyptian state’s efforts to expand innovative financing tools, and consistency with the recommendations of the international community. Aiming to develop the international financing structure.

The debt swap mechanism is a means of enhancing the financing available for development projects through signing agreements under which a portion of the debts owed to development partner countries is exchanged, with the aim of reducing the burden of external debt, achieving sustainable development through financing priority projects, and supporting efforts to achieve the seventeenth goal of development goals. Sustainable debt is “concluding partnerships to achieve goals,” and according to the mechanism, debts in local currency are used to finance development projects agreed upon between the two parties.
Egypt and Italy have had close relations since the 1970s, and the implementation of the first phase of the debt swap program for development with Italy began in 2001, during which 54 projects were implemented. The second phase was signed in 2007 and witnessed the implementation of 32 projects, then the third and final phase. The year 2012, during which a number of projects are being implemented; The total amount of the three phases is about $350 million. Through it, many projects have been implemented.
Last May, an agreement was signed to extend the work of the third tranche until 2024 with the Italian ambassador to implement many projects. At the top of these projects, in the food security sector, is the project “Establishing field silos and an information technology system for wheat management” at a value of 416.7 million pounds, and the second phase of the “Development of fish farming in Egypt” project at a value of 138.9 million pounds, and in the environment sector. Financing the third phase of the “Solid Waste Management in Minya Governorate” project at a value of 70.5 million pounds.

NOVI program and international acclaim

The Ministry of International Cooperation talked about the “Novi” program, which has achieved great success and received many international praises as a model for national platforms in the field of climate action, and its role in providing soft financing and technical support to the private sector to implement the projects included in the program.
The Ministry of International Cooperation indicated that Egypt worked to launch the national platform for the “Novi” program based on the great experiences accumulated with multilateral development banks and international institutions in Egypt, as well as the structural reforms that were launched beginning in 2014, which contributed to the implementation of ambitious projects. On top of it is the Benban Solar Energy Complex.
Egypt launched the “Novi” program during the COP27 climate conference, in Sharm El-Sheikh, which includes 9 projects in the areas of mitigation and adaptation to climate change, concentrated in the water, food, and energy sectors, in a way that enhances the implementation of the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050 and the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). International cooperation, through joint coordination with relevant development partners and national parties, to mobilize climate investments worth $14.7 billion to implement program projects.

Arab committees

The joint committees were also reviewed, which are one of the mechanisms through which the Ministry of International Cooperation works, in light of the role assigned to it, in order to develop economic relations with many brotherly and friendly countries of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The Ministry of International Cooperation supervises 68 committees between the Arab Republic of Egypt and countries from various continents of the world, including 8 Asian committees, 30 European committees, 14 committees with Arab countries, 9 African committees, in addition to 7 committees with Latin American countries.
For his part, Representative Tariq Al-Khouly, Undersecretary of the Foreign Relations Committee in the House of Representatives, praised the efforts led by the Ministry of International Cooperation, especially with regard to international partnerships with development partners, concessional development financing, and the keenness to enhance the principles of transparency and governance within the framework of international cooperation and development financing, and to work on Support and empower the private sector.