EBRD’s Chief Economist: Egypt enjoys good location for renewable energy production

CAIRO – 13 April 2022: Chief Economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Beata Javorcik stressed that Egypt enjoys a very good location, geographically, to produce renewable energy.

In press statements, she expected hydrocarbon energy purchases from Egypt to rise in the future.

She further commented on the consequences of the Russian war in Ukraine on the world’s economy, saying that it made the world in a big cloud, as it pushed wheat prices to unprecedented levels, and therefore many parts of the world were affected by the repercussions of the war.

In the same context, however, she indicated that Egypt will benefit from the rise in gas prices due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, which drew attention to alternative markets for obtaining energy.

"Egypt has done well during the Corona pandemic period," Javorcik said, in light of the bank's announcement in its 2020 report that Egypt is the only economy in all regions, where EBRD operates, that has succeeded in escaping recession during that year.

She said that in every crisis there is always an opportunity, adding that Egypt can make itself an attractive destination for investors from Europe by breaking into the fields of renewable energy.

On the other hand, Javorcik indicated that the outbreak of the war will prompt the purchase of more hydrocarbon energy from Egypt to continue and increase in the future, as the trend is increasing towards diversifying energy sources in order to achieve "energy security", while at the same time maintaining environment-friendly energy sources.

"I expect that if the companies producing renewable energy succeed in finding new sites for them, Egypt will benefit greatly from the investments in this sector," she said.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development had expected in its “Regional Economic Outlook” report in early April that the Egyptian economy would grow by 5 percent during the next fiscal year 2022-2023.

EBRD’s Chief Economist, Beata Javorcik is responsible for advising the president and other senior members of the Bank’s management team on economic issues of strategic or operational relevance to the EBRD regions.