Egypt, Germany review upcoming projects within the debt swap program’s final tranche

CAIRO – 27 September 2021: Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, Rania A. Al-Mashat, discussed Monday with Frank Hartmann, the new German ambassador to Egypt, areas of cooperation with Germany and the recent updates on the ongoing projects with state ministries and authorities in light of Egypt’s development priorities.

The meeting comes within the framework of the Ministry of International Cooperation's keenness to follow up on the ongoing development cooperation portfolio with multilateral and bilateral development partners, and to coordinate with stakeholders to ensure the value-centric results harnessed through the projects carried out with development partners.

Mashat took the chance to congratulate the new German ambassador in Cairo on his appointment, wishing him success. The Minister also reviewed the Ministry’s strategy to advance the prospects for economic and development cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners through the Economic Diplomacy’s three principles, the Multi-Stakeholder Platforms (MSPs), the Official Development Assistance mapping to the Sustainable Development Goals (ODA-SDG Mapping), and the Global Partnerships Narrative that puts “People at the Core”, “Projects in Action”, and “Purpose as the Driver”, with the aim of documenting development stories to increase the public’s awareness of Egypt’s development story.

The Minister of International Cooperation praised the strategic partnership between Egypt and Germany, which aims to enhance national efforts to achieve development in various sectors, including providing jobs and employment opportunities, enhancing infrastructure, and developing education; all to support the implementation of Egypt’s Vision 2030. One project worth mentioning is the integrated system of a high-speed electric railway network allocated to the National Authority for Tunnels (NAT) in cooperation with the German company Siemens. As per presidential directives, the project aims to operationalize the electric train as follows: The first line (Ain Sukhna- New Alamein to Matrouh); the second line (October - Aswan); and the third line (Qena - Hurghada - Safaga).

Al- Mashat also referred to the third and final tranche of the second phase of the debt swap program with Germany, and the list of projects to be implemented across many development sectors, stressing the need to carry on with the National School Feeding Programme in cooperation with the World Food Program (WFP) to combat school dropout and child labor.

For his part, the German ambassador praised the depth of the economic cooperation relations between Egypt and Germany, alluding to the successful ongoing projects that are being implemented in cooperation between the two countries, primarily the Egyptian-German Center for Jobs, Migration and Reintegration (EGC), which was established last year with a development financing worth EUR 2 million, earmarked for the Ministry of Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ).

The meeting raised the importance of arranging field visits to the most prominent projects brought about through the cooperation between Egypt and Germany to present success stories and elucidate the profound effect these projects have with regards to improving the Egyptians’ livelihoods and advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The ongoing cooperation portfolio with Germany amounts to €1.7 billion financing 30 projects through funds and technical assistance grants. The projects covered a wide array of sectors; namely renewable energy, sanitation, water resource and solid waste management, migration, labor market, innovation in the private sector, technical education, vocational training, urban development, administrative reform, women, youth, and local development. This, in addition to the €240 million debt-swap program between Germany and Egypt.