The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) seeks to focus on cooperation with Egypt within its new 2023-2027 framework in mainly five sectors: food security and nutrition, building community resilience, social protection, private sector participation, and refugee support, according to the WFP’s new country director in Egypt Praveen Agrawal.

Agrawal made the comments during a meeting with Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, where they discussed exploring areas of cooperation and avenues for supporting the country’s development agenda.

During the meeting, Al-Mashat asserted the ministry’s aspirations in expanding partnerships with the WFP, particularly in the field of developing both rural and low-income communities in Upper Egypt.

She also expressed the importance of strengthening relations within the scope of the new 2023-2027 WFP Country Strategy in Egypt that falls within the current Partnership Development Framework, which entails supporting the participation of relevant entities from the government, private sector, and civil society in achieving the country’s development vision.

Moreover, the minister discussed the possibility of transforming the Luxor Centre for Innovation and Knowledge Sharing into a centre of excellence, becoming the first of its kind in Africa.

The WFP’s centres of excellence are platforms that achieve food security by tackling malnutrition in developing countries through the exchange of knowledge and experiences.

On his part, Agrawal, who began his official responsibilities in August, lauded the development efforts undertaken by the government of Egypt on the economic and social levels.

The WFP began its work in Egypt in 1968.

The current WFP portfolio in Egypt amounts to $586 million, covering a variety of projects addressing agricultural and rural development in Upper Egypt. In the first phase of its projects’ implementation, 63 villages across 5 governorates have benefited from the WFP’s development interventions.