CAIRO – 9 May 2022: Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation and the European Union organized a ceremony, Monday to sign a number of development financing grants within the framework of the Egyptian-European partnership, to support the state's development efforts in various sectors, including rural and community development, administrative reform, local development, environment and health.
Attended at the ceremony Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al Mashat, EU ambassador Christian Berger along with Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Ambassador Amr Abu Eish, Head of the Technical Office of the Egyptian-European Partnership Agreement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Saleh Al-Sheikh, Head of the Central Agency for Organization and Administration, along with representatives of a number of ministries, ambassadors of EU member states and development partners.
During the ceremony, The Ministry of International Cooperation and the European Union (EU) signed a number of development funding grants worth 138 million euros within the framework of the Egyptian-European partnership.
In her speech, Mashat stressed the importance of the strategic relations between Egypt and the European Union, which she said come as part of Egypt's cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners.
She added that the Egyptian government is keen to continue developing relations with the EU within the framework of the new 2021-2027 cooperation program, which aims at supporting the state's efforts in many vital sectors, particularly in the fields of transition to the green economy, new and renewable energy and rural development.
Mashat noted that the EU has signed development grants with Egypt worth 650 million euros since 2008 to carry out various projects in infrastructure and priority sectors
Mashat said on Monday that Egypt's partnership with the European Union (EU) will focus on green transformation and digitalization.
Mashat's remarks came while answering a question about the differences in the partnership priorities document between Egypt and the EU, which is expected to be adopted in the coming weeks, compared to the previous one.
Mashat elaborated that Egypt's relations with the international partners are not limited to grants and funds, but the private sector is also included.
Egypt has joint programs with other European organizations through the EU under the umbrella of Team Europe, the minister pointed out.
She also mentioned that the International Cooperation Ministry would launch its partnership strategic framework with the UN in September and its partnership strategic framework with the African Bank for Development and World Bank in June.
The European Union Ambassador in Cairo, Christian Berger, said, Monday that the European Union supports Egypt in hosting the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) in November.
He added that the EU will also support the preservation of the environment and natural resources, stressing that the continuous updating of the strategic partnership will be an integral part of strong cooperation between Egypt and EU.
The EU delegation to Egypt is also celebrating "Europe Day", which is marked on May 9 every year, with holding with a series of activities organized by the EU Delegation and its Member States - in Cairo, Alexandria, and online like a video campaign titled “EU27@COP27”.
A press statement released on Monday by the EU Ambassador in Cairo Christian Berger said: "What does Europe Day tell us? It reminds us of the visionary ideas of European leaders like Robert Schuman to create an ever-deepening Union of sovereign European States to end a millennium of war and bloodshed among the European peoples. This plan, presented in a declaration on 9 May 1950, one day and five years after the end of a world war that had brought suffering and destruction on an unrivalled scale to Europe and far beyond, gave birth to an extraordinary peace project. For this achievement, the EU was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2012."
"To our shock and dismay, on 24 February this year all-out war returned to Europe. Our neighbour, Ukraine, a sovereign and independent State has found itself subjected to a brutal and unprovoked aggression. Millions of innocent civilians have been forced to flee their country, many killed, maimed, raped or orphaned. " according to the statement.
"The Russian war is causing unspeakable pain and destruction. It is gravely impacting a global economy still reeling from the pandemic. The EU and its Member States stand with Ukraine." said the statement.
"And we stand with our partners that are affected by this war. The European Union is making available to countries in the region, particularly those hit by the disruption of grain deliveries, financial support under a dedicated Food and Resilience Facility. In the case of Egypt it is €100 million. This comes just after our support to confront Covid-19, with deliveries from the EU of millions of doses of vaccine to Egypt thus far. Our cooperation with a current active portfolio of well over €1 billion of grants, loans, and investments in Egypt covers every walk of life and hopes to benefit people all over the country in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030." the statement read.
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