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Minister of Housing, Utilities, and Urban Communities Sherif El-Sherbiny met the delegation to review future investment proposals, cooperation opportunities, and possible expansions in the drinking water and sanitation sector.
Current joint projects in this sector amount to 721 million euros, alongside proposed projects that would further expand the ministry’s bilateral cooperation portfolio.
The meeting reviewed progress on key sanitation and wastewater projects, including the Kitchener Drain Depollution Project, worth 81 million euros in Kafr El-Sheikh, Dakahlia and Gharbia; the Fayoum Wastewater Expansion Project, worth 301 million euros; and the Improved Water and Wastewater Services Programme (IWSP2), worth 209.5 million euros in Minya, Assiut, Sohag and Qena.
The EIB delegation expressed readiness to work with the ministry on financing small desalination plants, conducting studies to reduce losses in drinking water networks in two governorates that will host new seawater desalination plants, and supporting sanitation projects in one of the governorates using the results-linked financing (RBL) system.
Other ongoing EIB projects include the Alexandria West Wastewater Treatment Plant Project, worth 140.6 million euros, the expansion of the Helwan Wastewater Treatment Plant Project in Arab Abu Sa`id, worth 288 million euros, and the Preparatory Technical Support Project for Sludge Management in Egypt, worth 2 million euros.
The EIB is also providing technical assistance for investment projects aimed at reducing pollution in the Mediterranean Sea.
The EU and Egypt signed a Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership in Cairo in March 2024. The partnership focuses on six main areas: political relations, economic stability, trade and investment, migration and mobility, security, and human capital.
According to Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt Ambassador Angelina Eichhorst, the EU was Egypt’s largest trading partner in 2024, with bilateral trade volume reaching 32.5 billion euros.
The partnership also includes a 7.4-billion-euro macro-financial package for 2024–2027 to support Egypt’s economic recovery and development.
The second tranche of the package, about 4 billion euros, was approved by the European Parliament in April 2025, following the first tranche of 1 billion euros released in January.
Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel-Latif also met the EIB delegation to discuss cooperation in developing the technical education sector and expanding applied technology schools, according to a ministry statement.
Abdel-Latif highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen partnerships with the private sector and expand international cooperation with Germany and Singapore to increase the number of applied technology schools across various specializations.
He also noted existing cooperation with Italy on 89 applied technology schools and with Austria in the hospitality and hotel specialization, adding that Egypt currently has 1,230 technical education schools.
The ministry’s priority, he said, is to implement projects that match the scale of an education system serving 25 million students, in light of growing demand for skilled labour in Europe and the Middle East.
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