Egypt-Italy agrees to explore a 4th phase of intercountry debt swap program

Cairo – May 26, 2024: The Ministry of International Cooperation (MoIC) revealed that, during a meeting between Minister Rania Al Mashat and the Italian Ambassador to Cairo, Michele Quaroni, the two countries have agreed to begin negotiations for a 4th phase of the intercountry Debt Swap Program.

In an official statement from the MoIC, Quaroni shared that the Italian government is taking a keen interest in supporting the sectors targeted by Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) Program.

The meeting, which discussed the progress of the program’s 3rd phase, was attended by the representatives of the Italian Development Agency and the Technical Support Unit of the committee.

The 3rd phase, valued at $100 million, has funded several projects related to food security and agriculture, higher education, civil society support, environment and cultural heritage conservation, women empowerment, the creation of ten wheat storage hubs, and children empowerment and protection projects.

The Italian-Egypt debt swap program was established in 2001 worth $149 million of debt generated from aid credits, which financed 53 initiatives operating in sectors such as environmental protection, cultural heritage, rural development, small and medium enterprise development, education, and social protection.

With additional debt installment of $100 million, the implementation of the 2nd phase of the program began in 2007. This financed the implementation of 31 projects that, in continuity with the initiatives implemented under the first agreement, worked on issues such as human resource development, technology transfer, primary production development, environmental protection and social development.

Quaroni stated that, for the 4th phase, Italy is exploring projects in the Agro-food sector, aid for communities affected by climate change and food shortages, as well as investing in Egypt’s human capital.

During the meeting, Al Mashat praised the importance of the mechanism of the debt swap program, being implemented with the Italian side, which many development partners seek to emulate, which aims to alleviate the external debt burden on the Egyptian government.