Egypt's FM highlights EAPD's role in promoting development in Africa

CAIRO – 13 May 2019: Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri highlighted the role of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) in supporting the development efforts in Africa through transferring expertise and qualifying cadres in the fields of priority to the African states.

This came as Shoukri met on Sunday with the members of the Board of Directors of EAPD. The meeting tackled ways to enhance the role of the agency in supporting development in many countries, especially in Africa.

Shoukri affirmed that Egypt, as the current chairman of the African Union (AU), is keen to promote comprehensive development in the continent, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.

The minister stressed the importance of developing the EAPD's work at the continent level, taking into account the needs and priorities of the countries the agency supports. He also urged the communication with the agency's partners and trainees in its various courses in order to maximize the benefit, according to Hafez.

The meeting also reviewed the activities of the agency, including establishing medical clinics, equipping medical units inside some hospitals in the African states, dispatching medical convoys and providing training courses in many fields including agriculture, irrigation, health, infrastructure, energy, youth, and financial and administrative reform.

The activities of the EAPD also include dispatching experts in the aforementioned sectors and providing development assistance.

The Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development was established in July 2014, as President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi announced launching it during his speech at the 23rd Summit of the African Union in Malabo a month earlier.

The EAPD is a merge between The Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa and The Egyptian Fund for Technical Cooperation with the countries of the Commonwealth and Islamic countries and the Newly Independent States.