(From R-L)Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Egypt President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi Odile Renaud-Basso, president of the UK-based international financial institution and officials of EBRD during their meeting on Wednesday 7 September, 2022. Photo courtesy of Egyptian Presidential spokesman Facebook page.
Renaud-Basso made the remarks in a meeting in Egypt with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, presidential spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement.
The Egyptian president affirmed aspirations to explore further fields of cooperation with the EBRD, especially clean energy and transition to green energy in light of the Egyptian presidency of the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) this year.
Egypt's aspirations to cooperate with the EBRD in more fields come in light of the comprehensive and sustainable development process currently being implemented across the Egyptian state on the economic and social levels, El-Sisi added.
For her part, Renaud-Basso hailed the success of Egypt's efforts to achieve economic reforms.
The meeting discussed enhancing cooperation between Egypt and the EBRD and working on increasing the institution's contributions in funding projects being implemented in Egypt, especially in renewable energy, the spokesman said.
This comes within the framework of the new strategy launched between the two sides, the spokesman added.
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat attended the meeting.
The EBRD launched its new 2022-2027 country strategy for Egypt in March, consisting of green and inclusive growth objectives.
The strategy is centered around 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.
The EBRD has invested around 10 billion euros in 152 projects across Egypt since the start of its operations in the country in 2012, the bank said in a statement today ahead of the meeting with El-Sisi.
Renaud-Basso took part in the second edition of the Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF) on Wednesday in the New Administrative Capital, east of Cairo.
The three-day forum's goals are centred around mobilising the necessary funding to support the climate agenda and reviewing national measures taken in this regard, the presidency said in a statement.
"In the first place, the forum aims to move from the stage of [climate] pledges into the stage of implementation and turning financial commitments into real chances," the statement added.
The forum comes only two months before COP27, slated for 6-18 November in Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh city.
During the forum today, El-Sisi said green investments in Egypt will hit 50 percent of the total public investments by 2024/2025, up from 40 percent currently.
Ahead of her visit, Renaud-Basso said the bank welcomes the goal of Egypt-ICF 2022.
She also affirmed strongly supporting the Nexus on Water, Food and Energy Programme (NWFE), which Egypt has launched to secure international funding for the country's green projects in the fields of water, food, and energy.
"We are proud that the EBRD is leading the energy pillar of this programme, supporting Egypt’s green energy transition," Renaud-Basso stated.
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