CAIRO - 27 September 2023: Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, announced the signing of a debt swap agreement with Germany worth €54 million to support the energy sector within the program. This reflects the efforts of the state to mobilize the necessary financing for program implementation.
Al-Mashat added that the target related to increasing the percentage of renewable energy in the energy mix to 42 percent by 2030, instead of 2035, was approved. Based on this, the debt swap program with Germany was agreed upon. This announcement was made during the minister's participation in a panel discussion titled "How Resource Mobilization, Blended and Innovative Finance Can Help Bridge the Infrastructure Gap" at the annual meetings of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Sharm El-Sheikh.
The Minister of International Cooperation emphasized that the climate action agenda and financing efforts to combat climate change have taken center stage on the global agenda in recent years. She pointed out the importance of transitioning from policies to practices to achieve sustainable development goals and ensuring that no one is left behind. There is a necessity to mobilize mixed and innovative financing to bridge the infrastructure financing gap in the Middle East and Africa.
She mentioned that despite the significant commitments made by the international community, these commitments do not reach the countries that are in most need of them, undermining the ability of many developing countries and emerging economies to access sustainable long-term financing.
She stressed the importance of restructuring the global financial program to be characterized by fairness in the distribution of climate finance. "It is necessary to have a clear framework for transition and mobilizing investments in the face of the various risks faced by capital providers, including credit and systemic risks."
She noted that during Egypt's presidency of the COP27 climate conference, the country worked on issuing a long-term plan, the National Climate Change Strategy 2050, to drive the transition to a green economy. The Ministry of International Cooperation also issued the "Sharm El-Sheikh Guide to Fair Financing" in consultation with 100 relevant entities to promote the idea of climate justice and shift from climate commitments to implementation. This involves establishing a unified definition of fair financing and clear principles for all relevant parties to stimulate fair financing.
After the issuance of the National Climate Change Strategy 2050, a set of priority projects in the fields of mitigation and adaptation to climate change were identified. Based on this, the National Platform for the "NWFE" program, which connects water, food, and energy projects, was launched.
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