Minister of International Cooperation Sahar Nasr met on Tuesday with EU representative and the Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy, Johannes Hahn, to sign an agreement on six projects worth €130m, according to a statement from the ministry.
The projects that will receive financing from the agreement include the construction of a wind power plant in the Suez Canal area with a power production capacity of 200 MW, which will receive €30m, out of a needed €345m, from the agreement. Another project will see the construction of an agricultural sewage facility in Upper Egypt at a cost of €8m.
In another project, infrastructure will be developed on 116,000 hectares of lands at a cost of €40m, which aims to positively affect the lives of nearly 850,000 people.
Humanitarian development is included in the agreement with the allocation of €26 towards projects to develop lower income areas, which includes financing the development of economic initiatives that aim to improve small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).
Nasr said that the agreements represent the profound relationship between Egypt and the EU, which show the desire for cooperation towards the development of Egypt’s economic environment.
She stated that both the ministry and EU are willing to focus on private sector projects as well as stainable development.
Near the end of the conference, Hahn added that the EU is working on developing new incentives that will focus on helping developing countries, such as Egypt, by creating more jobs, adding that aid up to €4m could be available for such projects.
Nasr also noted that in the new term she would focus on the implementation of these projects as, up until now, she has only worked with procuring finances for them. She added that she will visit Upper Egypt to see how projects are being developed.
