President of EBRD visits Cairo on 1st Visit to region since her election last October

CAIRO – 20 April 2021: President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Odile Renaud-Basso will visit Cairo on April 21 and 22, in her first visit to the region since her election in October 2020, according to Ministry of International Cooperation.

The ministry noted in a statement, Tuesday, that choosing to visit Cairo on her first visit to the region comes within the framework of the strategic cooperation between Egypt and the EBRD; in 2020, Egypt was the top destination for the bank’s investment in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) Countries, and in 2018/2019, Egypt was the largest country of operations across all regions.

“This visit coincides with EBRD’s 30th anniversary celebration in April. Over the course of thirty years, the EBRD has invested in more than 6000 projects worth $150 billion, in various countries of operation,” it added.

During the visit, the President of the EBRD will hold high-level meetings with officials, in addition to a session of bilateral talks with Minister of International Cooperation, Rania A. Al-Mashat. Renaud-Basso will also meet with Egypt’s Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Minister of Housing, Utilities & Urban Communities, Minister of Local Development, in addition to several officials and representatives of private sector institutions.

 “This visit reflects the close and strategic relations between Egypt and the EBRD, which is one of the country’s most prominent development partners as it contributes to advancing development efforts and supporting Egypt’s strategy in the transition towards a green economy,” said Al-Mashat.

“We expect that this visit will open new horizons of cooperation with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and in light of that, I would like to congratulate Ms. Renaud-Basso as she is the first woman to hold this position,” the Minister added.

Minister Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Governor of the EBRD, represented the country at the annual meetings of the bank that were held last October, where she participated in electing Renaud-Basso, as the first female president at the BERD.

Since the start of the Bank’s operations in 2012, the EBRD has invested about €7.2 billion in more than 127 projects in the public and private sectors in Egypt; including the financial sector, the agriculture sector, the industrial and trade sector; in addition to financing sustainable infrastructure projects in the energy, water and sanitation services, and transportation sectors.

The Ministry of International Cooperation manages the economic relations of Egypt with the EBRD, as part of the Ministry’s mandate as per the Presidential Decree No. 303 of 2004, which entrusts the Ministry to follow-up and monitor national agencies that benefit from foreign development financing within the framework of the general economic policy of the country to achieve national development priorities.