Egypt, Switzerland discuss bilateral economic ties for upcoming three years

Doaa A.Moneim , Tuesday 2 Mar 2021

With over 40 years of cooperation, Switzerland contributed more than 700 million Swiss francs to finance the implementation of more than 200 projects in various sectors

Egypt
Minister Al Mashat during the meeting with the Swiss Ambassador to Egypt held on Tuesday

Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat met on Tuesday with the Swiss Ambassador to Egypt Paul Garnier and the new Head of the Swiss International Cooperation Office Valerie Liechti to discuss the Egypt-Switzerland bilateral economic relations and the future areas of cooperation for the period of 2021-2024.

This comes within the framework of the ministry’s endeavor to strengthen and develop economic cooperation relations between Egypt, international and regional states along with organisations.

Al-Mashat discussed the new cooperation areas with the Swiss officials, suggesting that the focus be on climate action, renewable energy and women's empowerment, along with the engagement of the private sector in the national development framework.

The international cooperation ministry intends on making 2021 the year that enhances public-private dialogue in the transformation work done to achieve a sustainable, green economy.

Al-Mashat also praised the strategic relations in economic cooperation between Egypt and Switzerland, those that have been extended for more than four decades and that have also resulted in many partnership agreements in various fields.

From his end, Paul Garnier said that he is looking forward to joint coordination during the upcoming period in the framework of strengthening economic cooperation relations between Egypt and Switzerland - in various fields - through the new cooperation program 2021/2024.

As part of the ministry’s development framework and Egypt’s '2030 Sustainable Development Vision', Al-Mashat emphasised that 2021 will be the year to provide more opportunities for the private sector to participate in development plans; especially through the environmental, social and governance principles that will help the country build a circular, green economy.

On Monday, the ministry launched the digital campaign 'GameChangers', which aims to demonstrate the private sector's participation in development efforts, as well as the value of public-private partnerships to implement the national development agenda, achieve a sustainable future and to build towards a green economy.

#GameChangers highlights the unique engagement of the public and private sectors in different development projects through the Global Partnerships Narrative: People at the Core, Projects in Action, and Purpose as the Driver.

The partnership between Egypt and Switzerland extends for more than 40 years, during which the Swiss side contributed more than 700 million Swiss francs to finance the implementation of more than 200 projects in various sectors. During 2017, the joint strategy for cooperation 2017-2020 was launched to support the national development agenda in light of Egypt's Vision 2030, according to the international cooperation ministry.

The ongoing development cooperation portfolio between Egypt and Switzerland amounts to $59 million to finance seven projects in the fields of industry, urban development, water, housing, waste management, communication and health.

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