Sisi approves USAID fund to support Egypt’s water security

CAIRO – 16 August 2018: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi approved a mutual agreement to receive $50.85 million at most from the United States to fund Egyptian water and sanitation activities, according to the state-owned Akhbar al-youm on Wednesday.

The aid will help support water security in Egypt and provide the state's water companies, including the Holding Company for Water and Wastewater (HCWW) and its subordinate companies with the required technical support.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will, according to the agreement, fund Egypt with an amount of money that does not exceed $50,847,041 (about LE 910 million) according to the state-owned newspaper.

On September 27, 2017, the official website of the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Egypt reported that the two countries signed assistance agreements and amendments worth over $100 million to support U.S.-Egypt priorities in fields including water, agriculture, education and health.

The agreements were signed by Sherry Carlin, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director to Egypt and Sahar Nasr, the Egyptian minister of investment and international cooperation.

USAID efforts in Egypt

The American people have invested in Egypt through USAID by about $30 billion since 1978.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grants Egypt $100 -112 million annually, divided among several activities and aspects, including economic development, entrepreneurships and scholarships, according to Carlin.

On the sidelines of the graduation ceremony of 37 Egyptian students from the USAID-funded grant programs in Egypt last July, Carlin said that the agency carries out several activities in cooperation with the Egyptian government, such as coordinating with the HCWW to set up several projects especially in Sinai.

She added that the agency holds activities in the cultural tourism field through the restoration of many Egyptian archaeological sites. Carlin referred that USAID also works with Egypt’s Ministry of Health, affirming that they are extremely interested in backing democracy, controlling violence and combating illegal immigration.

The U.S. Embassy in Cairo said in a statement in May that the USAID will implement a 5-year program to fund Egypt with $19 million to help Egypt’s family planning efforts.

In November 2017, USAID signed a historic $15 million agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Education to improve education in Egypt. USAID stated on its official Facebook account that over 100,000 new teaching materials will be developed, including scripted lesson plans for teachers and books for learners and over 150,000 early grade teachers who will be trained – impacting 7.2 million children in 17,000 schools nationwide.

“Since 2016, USAID’s project to improve the skills and job-readiness of technical students has secured employment for nearly 7,000 and internships for over 5,350 students,” said USAID economist Jacinto Fabiosa. “More than 24,000 students have benefited from career guidance sessions and over 21,000 students received training in entrepreneurship.”

U.S. military aid

In late July, the United States decided to lift hold on the military aid to Egypt which the former withheld in August 2017 over allegations of human rights and democracy breaches in Egypt.

The $195 million military aid –– will be released by the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the U.S. decision to lift the hold off some military aid to Egypt emphasizes the significant relations between the two countries and their keenness to support bilateral ties.