G20 women's summit: Nasr says fund to be set up to empower women economically

CAIRO – 26 April 2017: An agreement was reached during Berlin's G20 women's summit to set up a fund aimed at empowering women economically, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said.

The Egyptian minister is participating in the event, which also brings together German Chancellor Angela Merkel, White House Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives Dina Powell, daughter and adviser to the U.S. president Ivanka Trump, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands and Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland.

The fund will be established through cooperation with the World Bank (WB) and Africa's partnership initiative adopted by Germany, a Wednesday statement from the Ministry of Investment quoted Nasr as saying on the sidelines of the event.

Egypt will be a member of this fund, the minister added.

According to the African initiative adopted by Germany, she went on to say, a plan was drawn up to establish a partnership between African countries and specific member states of the G20 women's summit as well as the WB in order to attract investors from outside Africa to invest in its countries.

The G20 women's summit meeting touched on means of improving women's economic situation, providing them with more job opportunities, and guaranteeing their greater participation in leading businesses, Nasr noted.

The minister meanwhile affirmed President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi's support for women and his recognition of their key role, pointing to Sisi's declaration of 2017 as the "Year of Egyptian Women."

Nasr also confirmed the Ministry of Investment’s keenness to provide women with equal investment opportunities compared with men, noting that the ministry is funding projects that support female breadwinners in various governorates and villages across Egypt, particularly the most needy.

Separately, Nasr had a conversation with White House Senior Counselor for Economic Initiatives Dina Powell during which they reviewed means of boosting Cairo-Washington economic relations in light of President Sisi's meeting with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.

According to the ministry statement, Powell asserted the U.S. administration's full support for Egypt.

Within the framework of the 2017 German presidency of the G20, the National Council of German Women’s Organizations and the Association of German Women Entrepreneurs were tasked with organizing the women's summit.