Ambassador of France to Egypt Stéphane Romatet has asserted the continued commitment of France to strengthening economic cooperation with Egypt over the coming period.

Romatet made the comments during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held to discuss tapping new opportunities and expanding cooperation between Egypt and France.

Al-Mashat said that during the coming period, Egypt and France will establish a new bilateral dialogue that covers healthcare, energy, technology, agriculture and transport.

During the meeting, the minister reviewed the ongoing projects within the framework of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in January 2019 worth €1 billion, including the second tranche of €75 million from the energy sector budget support programme worth €150 billion, and a grant worth €1 million to provide technical support for the electricity and renewable energy sector within the framework of the energy sector budget support programme.

In March, a tripartite partnership agreement was inked for the implementation of the technical assistance programme for the development of wholesale trade in food markets in Egypt between the government of Egypt, Agence Française de Développement and the French company Semaris, with a grant worth €700,000.

In June, agreements were also signed with Agence Française de Développement worth €200 million to finance, develop and modernise the first line of the Cairo metro alongside a programme to support policies in the energy sector. Additionally, €150,000 also went to providing job opportunities for youth in terms of training and establishing companies in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports, according to the international cooperation ministry.

The total cooperation portfolio between Egypt and France is worth €7.5 billion, covering the transport and electricity, housing, sanitation, health, agriculture, small and medium enterprises, environment, basic and technical education sectors, according to the ministry.