Egyptian-Swiss cooperation strategy to be launched Tuesday

CAIRO - 11 December 2017: Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch will witness the launch of an Egyptian-Swiss Cooperation Strategy for 2017-2020 on Tuesday in the presence of Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr.

In a statement released on Monday, the Swiss Embassy said the Swiss minister's two-day visit to Egypt comes as part of a long-standing Egyptian-Swiss partnership as Switzerland has been financing development projects in Egypt in several fields namely; democratic changes, economic growth, human rights as well as immigration.

The statement noted that such projects are being run and implemented through cooperation with the international cooperation office at the Swiss Embassy in Cairo.

The total budget of the Egyptian-Swiss Cooperation Strategy for 2017-2020 is expected to reach 86 million franc, according to the statement.

The Swiss minister is expected to make a tour of a number of development projects sponsored by her country in Egypt, including the National Center for Blood Transfusion which was established in Cairo through cooperation between the Egyptian and the Swiss sides.

She will also pay a visit to Badr University which received dlrs 10 million finance to upgrade the quality of education offered to Egyptians.

Meanwhile, Swiss Ambassador in Cairo Paul Garnier said his country decided to extend cooperation projects with Egypt for another four years, a matter which proves his country's commitment to Egypt's development vision for 2030.

He also said Egypt is considered the third trade partner for Switzerland in Africa and the fourth in the Middle East and North Africa as the volume of trade exchange hit dlrs 1.3 billion francs in 2016.