Egypt, Germany sign agreement worth 103M Euros to finance micro-enterprises, technical education

CAIRO - 28 June 2024: Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, and Frank Hartmann, German Ambassador to Egypt, signed a financial cooperation agreement between the Egyptian and German governments worth 103.5 million euros.

 

The agreement is set to finance three development programs as follows: Financing micro, small and medium enterprises; the fourth phase for the benefit of the Banque du Caire as soft financing worth 65 million euros; financial contribution (supplementary grant) worth 3 million euros; financial support for the Comprehensive Technical Education Initiative with Egypt; the third phase: for the benefit of the Ministry of Education and technical education, worth 20.51 million euros, and the risk management mechanisms program: for the benefit of the Central Bank of Egypt, worth 15 million euros.

 

This came during a meeting with the Minister of International Cooperation, at the Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, with Mario Sander, Head of the Middle East Department of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in the presence of Frank Hartmann, the German Ambassador to Egypt, and with the participation of the work team of the German Embassy in Cairo and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. To discuss areas of joint cooperation within the framework of the state’s development priorities, and to follow up on the position of ongoing projects implemented with the ministries and concerned authorities, and funded by the German government.

 

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the position of the new tranche of the debt swap program between Egypt and Germany, worth 100 million euros, as the German Parliament recently approved a tranche worth 50 million euros, and the procedures for the second tranche are being finalized, in light of the close partnerships between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Republic of Germany. 

 

The Minister of International Cooperation pointed to the effective cooperation with the German side in various areas of development, including support for climate action, renewable energy, and energy efficiency, which was represented in the political declaration issued by the governments of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the United States of America, issued on November 11, 2022 during the Climate Summit Cop-27, to support the energy axis of the NOVI program.