The event witnessed the participation of stakeholders from the government, the EBRD, the private sector, representatives of parliament, and civil society organisations.

The new framework is based on a holistic scheme of an inclusive-green-growth nexus, which reflects Egypt’s role as a regional leader in its transition to a green economy.

The strategy consists of green and inclusive growth objectives, which is a novel development model that enables Egypt to embark on the path towards more effective sustainable development as per Egypt’s 2030 Vision.

It centres on three key priorities: Promoting a more inclusive economy for Egyptian businesses, women, and youths; accelerating Egypt’s green economy transition; and boosting the country’s competitiveness by supporting private-sector growth and strengthening governance.

During the ceremony, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that this new country strategy comes at a critical time, as the global sentiment is now focused on driving the green finance agenda forward and addressing climate change, equity, and governance.

She added that Egypt analyses its current strength as a labour-intensive manufacturing economy in parallel with the value added of shifting to an innovative economy, which is why the country strategy is also centred on skills development for women and young people, launching the first sector-skills platform in Egypt for training and work-based learning opportunities.

“The new country strategy is also in line with national initiatives and reform measures, such as Egypt’s 2030 Vision, the National Human Rights Strategy, the National Climate Change Strategy, and the 2035 Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy, as well as the Decent Life Presidential Initiative to promote inclusive and comprehensive development in Egypt,” according to Al-Mashat.

During the event, the international cooperation ministry and the EBRD inked two memoranda of understanding on green hydrogen as well as establishing a council for boosting the tourism sector’s skills, in addition to signing an agreement to implement an Alexandria metro line with a total value of €250 million.

For his part, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry noted that Egypt is keeping pace in the global race towards achieving the sustainable development goals, which encapsulate several challenges, including climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and rising economic risks due to geopolitical events.

Additionally, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker said that Egypt is on the path to diversifying its energy mix and reducing emissions by converting to natural gas, adding that the consumption of natural gas in Egypt has been steadily increasing, reaching more than 65 percent.

“We are very pleased to launch the new strategy with Egypt to contribute to economic development and green transformation. By implementing the new strategy, the EBRD will continue to work to increase its investments and strong policy engagement to drive greater private sector participation in development and enhance economic governance,” said Mark Bowman, the EBRD’s vice president for policy and partnerships.

The strategic partnership between Egypt and the EBRD dates back to 1991.

Over the past four years, the EBRD named Egypt as the largest country of the bank’s operations in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region.

The EBRD’s total investments in Egypt since the beginning of its operations in 2012 amount to about €8.6 billion across 145 projects at the state level, 76 percent of which are dedicated to financing the private sector and the remaining 24 percent are directed to the public sector.