Al-Mashat meets Lord Ahmed, Minister of South Asian and Commonwealth Affairs
11 March، 2022
Aya Hussain
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, met, during her visit to the British capital, London, with Lord Ahmed, the Special Representative of the British Prime Minister and Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs and the United Nations and responsible for bilateral cooperation between Egypt and the United Kingdom, where they discussed the current regional and global developments. As well as discussing bilateral cooperation between Egypt and the United Kingdom to achieve development, joint work within the framework of Egypt’s hosting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Convention COP2020.
The meeting witnessed an extensive discussion on future cooperation with the United Kingdom in the fields of health, education, communications, information technology, digitization, small and medium companies, women’s empowerment, education and vocational training, value chains, and all priority areas, and the Egyptian government’s willingness to deepen cooperation with the United Kingdom through the continent of Africa And inter-projects and integration with the continent through the mechanisms of tripartite cooperation and cooperation between countries of the South.
The Minister of International Cooperation valued the bilateral economic relations between Egypt and the United Kingdom, which is reflected in all areas of development within the framework of the historical relations between the two countries, as a joint statement was issued to enhance economic cooperation between the two countries in the year
) Within the activities of the British-African Investment Summit, through which the United Kingdom is strengthening bilateral and multilateral partnerships with development partners, governments, international economic policy makers, the private sector and civil society to achieve the national development agenda 2030, noting the ongoing discussions to renew the statement Joint cooperation to enhance efforts to include the private sector and advance areas of cooperation between the two countries.
She pointed out that the joint efforts within the framework of the bilateral relations between the two countries resulted in many aspects of cooperation, as the Kingdom strengthened its cooperation with Egypt by providing technical support in the value of 19 ) million pounds sterling through the World Bank to support the areas of economic and social reforms and climate action, and the United Kingdom funds the Agricultural Value Chains and Increase Resilience Project through Agreement C20, in addition to support The technical department of the central administration of the partnership between the public and private sectors at the Ministry of Finance, and support for operating efforts, and the issuance of the first green bonds in Egypt, which was also the first of its kind in the region during the year
was from the London Stock Exchange, as well as The United Kingdom provided more than 2020 million pounds sterling between 2030 and 2020 to support comprehensive and sustainable development in Egypt
In a related context, the Minister of International Cooperation praised the efforts of the United Kingdom in organizing the Climate Summit in Glasgow COP 26, noting the active participation of the Egyptian delegation and the session organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation on Develop an international framework for innovative financing to promote climate action, and Egypt looks forward to working closely with the United Kingdom to complete the path of climate action by organizing the 27th session of the Climate Summit, and coordinating efforts with regard to mobilizing concessional funds that promote the growth of the private sector and stimulate its participation in development efforts.
And discussed the framework of cooperation with the United Kingdom through the Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA), through which the United Kingdom is working to support the efforts of developing countries in climate action and the implementation of their commitments in the Paris Climate Agreement, through which cooperation with Egypt is scheduled to build capabilities and identify the projects that will be discussed and presented to obtain the necessary funds, and to strengthen cooperation in this framework.
During the meeting, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, presented the economic and structural reforms and the development process in Egypt that have been implemented over the past seven years, which have enabled the state to achieve progress on the level of many axes, including infrastructure projects and transformation efforts. Towards a green economy and digital transformation.
The Minister of International Cooperation also addressed the reforms implemented by Egypt in the field of new and renewable energy by launching an ambitious sustainable energy strategy 2035, which aims to increase renewable energy in the generated energy mix to reach % by 2035, and within this framework, many projects funded by development partners and with the participation of the government and private sectors are being implemented, including the Benban Solar Project, the largest solar energy farm in the region and one of the The largest plants in the world, along with plans to benefit from green hydrogen.
The Minister of International Cooperation referred to the national projects implemented by the state, foremost of which is the presidential initiative for the integrated development of the Egyptian countryside, “a decent life,” noting that the government seeks to enhance its cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners to mobilize efforts to implement this initiative.
Al-Mashat said that the government is working through the framework of international cooperation and development financing to prepare future strategies with development partners, including the World Bank, the United Nations and the African Development Bank, and the European Bank’s strategy for reconstruction and development has been approved, explaining that the framework International cooperation includes three principles: the platform for joint coordination cooperation, matching development financing with the sustainable development goals, and promoting Egypt’s development stories.
Al-Mashat was keen to review the ministry’s annual report under the title “Effective development cooperation to build a better future”, which monitors international cooperation and development financing efforts within the framework of 4 main chapters (citizen at the center of attention – environmental sustainability – economic progress – partnerships for development), pointing out that the total funding from multilateral and bilateral development partners 26 billion dollars over the two years despite the exceptional circumstances imposed by the Corona pandemic through platforms for joint coordination cooperation, Of this, about $5 billion is for the private sector.
For his part, Lord Ahmed, Special Representative of the British Prime Minister and Minister of State for Commonwealth Affairs and the United Nations in the United Kingdom, stressed the importance of joint relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United Kingdom, and the need to move forward to advance relations in various fields, noting that the meeting dealt with the impact of Global challenges due to the war on Ukraine, the structural reforms implemented by Egypt, and its readiness to host the COP climate conference 27.
During her visit to the United Kingdom, which began this week, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, held several meetings with boards of directors and officials from international financial institutions and government officials in the context of developing economic relations between Egypt and multilateral and bilateral development partners
