International Cooperation minister lauds Egypt's anti-coronavirus financing policy

CAIRO - 5 April 2020: International Cooperation Minister Rania el Mashaat lauded on Sunday the way the Egyptian government handled the anti-coronavirus financing.

This came in a video-conferencing meeting with more than 100 representatives of regional and international development organizations on enhancing cooperation with development partners and repercussions of coronavirus outbreak.

Mashaat said the Health Ministry took many measures to contain the virus, including setting up 27 labs for virus detection, launching sterilization campaigns in cities and villages in two weeks and setting up eight isolation hospitals with 3,000-bed accommodations and 400 ventilators.

The Education Ministry shut down all schools across the nation and launched e-learning process through the knowledge bank and a digital library.

It also provided an electronic learning platform that includes 55,000 schools to enable teachers to communicate with students and parents, she said.

The State also adopted many measures to ease economic repercussions of the virus outbreak on needy families as 500 pounds were paid each to more than one million irregular workers.

The number of Takaful and Karama program beneficiaries was increased to 60,000 families and is expected to rise to 100,000 within the coming stage, she said.

The Central Bank of Egypt also took many steps to encourage digital transformation, including canceling duties on money remittances and activating electronic payment using the QR code, the minister said.

Walid Labadi, director of the International Finance Corporation in Egypt, said this critical stage poses a threat to the private sector, the main stimulus for economic growth in any country.

He added that the IFC is working hard with its partners to contain the economic repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak and help companies keep their staffers.

Representatives from the African Bank for Development, the World Bank, European Investment Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency and other international institutions took part in the meeting.