Egypt signs 5 grant agreements with U.S. for $45M

CAIRO – 25 July 2018: Egypt signed five grant agreements with the United States worth $45 million in the fields of agriculture, higher education, science and technology, Health, and governance.

The agreements were signed by Egyptian Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr and Mission Director of U.S Agency for International Development to Egypt Sherry Carlin.

The first grant agreement is set to help improve the health results of targeted groups with an amount of $5 million in favor of the Ministry of Health and Population, targeting to boost Egypt’s family planning program.

The second grant is directed to higher education in favor of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, to be the third agreement for the American Egyptian initiative. It aims at providing educated employees that meet the needs of the labor market, increasing job opportunities for graduates of higher education, boosting the capabilities of the educational organizations and increasing scholarships.

It also includes partnerships between Egyptian an American educational organizations; the agreement is set to boost school education and educate teachers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Nasr and Carlin also signed a $4 million agreement to continue the cooperation between both countries in the field of science and technology, expanding the relationship between the scientific and technological communities of the two states and exchanging ideas, information, skills, and techniques.

Agriculture is the target of the fourth $3.5 million grant which aims at boosting the agricultural business to develop the rural areas and increase income.

This grant is presented to the Ministry of Agriculture in order to increase income and job opportunities for the targeted communities in Upper Egypt through raising productivity, introducing farmers to international markets, and working on new fields.

Moreover, the fifth grant is an agreement on government management initiatives and participation program with a value of $5.3 million for the ministries of justice, social solidarity, national council for women and national council for motherhood and childhood.

The last agreement aims at supporting Egypt in building the rule of law and good governance by enhancing the capacity of the Egyptian judiciary, improving the management of electoral processes, increasing citizen participation, providing information for election debates, and strengthening political and legal frameworks to deal with and prevent all forms of violence against women.

“These agreements confirm the strategic relationship between Egypt and America and the economic cooperation between both countries,” Nasr said.

The minister clarified that these agreements are an investment in citizens and youths whether through education scholarships or health care and family planning program.

She noted that the success of the economic program of the government needs bigger support for governance transparency and sound institutional order.

Carlin said that cooperation between her organization and the Ministry of Investment targets to build a more prosperous Egypt through sustainable program gains according to the needs of the target groups.

U.S Agency for International Development has been working with Egypt for 40 years to improve the mechanism of self dependence, boost the economic growth and stabilization, and to limit poverty, Carlin noted.

She added that these programs are part of the $30 billion invested by the Americans in Egypt through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) since 1978 to promote health, education and employment opportunities for the Egyptian people.