Saudi grant to Egypt finances 2,176 projects in Egypt

CAIRO – 28 June 2020: "The $200 million Saudi grant to Egypt has funded 2,176 projects so far in 27 governorates," Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat announced Sunday.

The Saudi grant provides its financing for small and medium projects in Egypt through a number of intermediaries, including the National Bank of Egypt and the Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Development Agency.

Mashat said that the grant contributed to creating about 12,000 job opportunities.

The minister praised the Egyptian-Saudi cooperation in supporting small and medium projects, largely demonstrated through the $200 million grant, pointing out that the grant management committee decided to maximize its utilization in order to diversify the base of final beneficiaries through cooperation with new partners.

Also, Mashat emphasized that the committee discussed a number of financing programs presented by a number of intermediate financing bodies that wish to benefit from the grant funds and direct them to support the MSME sector in order to serve the development purpose of the grant funds.

She noted that any future project with the Saudi Grant Committee will be implemented within the framework of the new strategy of the Ministry of International Cooperation, which focuses on three main axes: The citizen is the focus of attention, ongoing projects, and the goal is the driving force, in order to achieve sustainable development, which is a priority across all sectors.