EU delegation chief hails Egyptian National Women Council’s empowerment efforts

CAIRO – 18 September 2020: New head of the European Union delegation to Egypt Christian Berger praised the role played by the country’s National Council for Women to improve the situation of women nationwide, as he met with NCW chief Maya Morsy.

During the meeting at the NCW headquarters in the capital Cairo, Berger affirmed the EU huge support to women empowerment issues, including equality and the need to secure equal opportunities for both genders, a statement by the council read.

Morsy has referred to significant improvement concerning women empowerment in Egypt, saying that such success has been supported by the political leadership, as President Abdel Fattah El Sisi “powerfully” endorses women issues, according to the statement.

Morsy described Sisi’s tenure as the “golden era of Egyptian women,” as achievements on women issues over the past few years have “exceeded dreams and expectations,” read the statement.

On Thursday, Berger also discussed with Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania el Mashat means of renewing the framework of bilateral cooperation in various fields, and strengthening economic diplomacy.

Mashat said strategic relations between Egypt and the EU has been reflected positively on Egypt’s development, the international cooperation ministry said in a statement.

The minister added that Egypt is currently part of the European Union support framework for the 2017-2020 period, which has allocated €432-528 million to support several sectors, including sustainable energy, environment, social protection, stability promotion, governance, capacity building and civil society.

Turning development into real human success stories, the minister referred to Egypt's stories especially with regard to women's empowerment, as the Ministry of International Cooperation and the National Council for Women, in cooperation with the World Economic Forum, have launched the ‘Gender Gap Accelerator’ - the first of its kind in the Middle East and Africa - to close the gender gap through public-private collaboration.

Also, she has recently visited Sinai to inspect a group of community development projects there.

Mashat reiterated the ministry’s vision to apply the three principles of economic diplomacy, which include regularly organizing multi-stakeholder platforms, adopting a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative People & Projects & Purpose (P&P&P); and mapping ODA financing to SDGs.

Meanwhile, Berger welcomed the role played by the Ministry of International Cooperation to coordinate efforts between governments and international institutions through the multi-stakeholder platform, affirming the EU’s keenness to support Egypt’s development efforts.

The new framework agreement for cooperation was concluded to begin negotiations during the years 2021-2027, which will add to Egypt’s long historical relations with the European Union that began in 1977 and amounts to €1.35 billion grants

MENA contributed to the reporting.