Egypt, EU sign 2 agreements worth €135M

CAIRO - 18 October 2018: Egypt and the European Union signed Thursday, Oct. 18 two agreements for comprehensive growth and job creation to combat the challenges of migration in Egypt, with a total value of €135 million.

The agreements were signed by Egypt’s Minister of Investment Sahar Nasr and General Director of the Neighborhood Policy and EU Enlargement Christian Danielson.

The minister clarified that the funding agreement for the program of EU’s facility of comprehensive growth and job creation is worth €75 million.

The program contributes to achieving the priorities of the Egyptian people. It consists of two parts: The first is to carry out reforms to reduce the burden on the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector by facilitating its access to long-term financing as well as facilitating business relations and fostering innovation among SME entrepreneurs, according to Nasr.

She added that the program aims at facilitating the overall growth of the Egyptian economy, as well as contributing to the creation of more job opportunities for youth and women, supporting sustainable economic development, improving the future indicators of living, and enhancing the overall climate of the Egyptian economy to allow for greater innovation.

Secondly, Nasr said that the agreement supporting the program to combat migration challenges in Egypt, worth €60 million, is funded by the European Emergency Fund for Africa, and includes contributions from Germany and the International Planning Organization.

The statement read that the agreement aims to combat illegal immigration and human trafficking, and works to find solutions to address the main social and economic causes of these phenomena.

Nasr noted that this program will contribute in supporting seven projects in 15 governorates with a total of €27 million; a capacity building project, worth €17 million, developing infrastructure in areas affected by illegal migration; and a multi-educational project in the affected areas worth €6 million.

The minister added that the fund also includes a project, worth €4.6 million, to support women to combat the economic causes leading to migration, a project to strengthen the management of migration through institutional support by €3 million, as well as a project to support the health sector for civil society in Cairo and Alexandria worth €1.4 million.

“The fund also includes a project, worth €1 million, which will be implemented in Sohag and Assiut to combat the main causes of migration and to support the civil society in Upper Egypt," the statement said.

For his part, Danielson said that the EU is Egypt's first development partner, with more than €1.3 billion in grants for ongoing projects, adding that this figure rises to €11 billion when grants, financing and debt swaps from European Union member states and European financial institutions are added.