Egypt obtained $38.8B in financing in past 4 years to support SDG progress, Al -Mashat

Cairo – December 17, 2023: Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation (MoIC) attracted $38.8 billion in financing through several multilateral development partners in the past four years to support the country’s sustainable development goals.

In its annual report “Platforms for Policy & Practice,” released during a press conference on Sunday, MoIC Minister Rania Al-Mashat stated that the ministry secured $28.5 billion for the public sector and $10.3 billion for the private sector between 2020 and 2023.

 

“This year has been an incredibly challenging one, to say the least. However, through new and enhanced partnerships, as well as our commitment to strategic cooperation and innovative financing, we are putting people at the center of our decisions today, tomorrow, and in the years to come,” wrote Al-Mashat in the report.

The financing was distributed to support the country’s green transition, food security, sustainable infrastructure, human capital, and employment rates.

Al-Mashat clarified that the financing was “dedicated to accelerating progress towards sustainable development in electricity, renewable energy, transportation, MSMEs, water, education, health, and many other sectors".

Official Development Assistance (ODA) obtained by the MoIC represented 16 percent of total external debt, according to Central Bank of Egypt’s statistics, the report explained.

 

According to the report, $5.9 billion of the total ODA portfolio, around 23.3 percent, was distributed to 34 projects dedicated to affordable and clean energy, while $5.7 billion, or 22.3 percent, was dispersed to 36 projects in the fields of industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

The final 19.4 percent of financing, worth $4.9 billion, was spread across 43 projects dedicated to clean water and sanitation.

Contributing development partners included the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The report explained that financing through development partners has an average interest rate of 1.6 percent with grace periods of up to 6.4 years.