The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has agreed to pump $150 million in direct investments in Egypt’s agriculture sector in partnership with the country’s private sector, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said in a statement on Saturday.

The investments aim at developing the country’s nutrition sector, introducing the newest technologies in manufacturing, as well as providing new job opportunities for the youth.

The IFC is a member of the World Bank Group, which focuses on developing the private sector in developing countries.

The deal comes following a meeting between Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim in New York on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings, where the two discussed cooperation between Egypt and the bank.

Nasr expressed her aspirations for further cooperation with the World Bank group, and hopes to sign new investment agreements during the upcoming annual meetings of the Bank in Washington in October.

Nasr is Egypt’s representative at the World Bank Group.

On Tuesday, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), which is also a member of the World Bank Group, agreed to provide $210 million in guarantees to a number of international companies that will be building a new solar energy project in Upper Egypt's Aswan.

Other agencies like the IFC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development are also participating in the Aswan project with investments of over $2 billion.

Part of the project aims at establishing 11 solar energy fields at a cost of $730 million to produce a total 500 megawatts, and will be carried out by Egypt’s private sector in cooperation with international companies, the statement added.

According to the World bank's data, the current portfolio of the World Bank in Egypt includes 26 projects for a total commitment of $5.92 billion.

Egypt’s net foreign direct investment rose by 14.5 percent to $7.9 billion in the 2016/17 fiscal year.