Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jean-Louis Guigou, the president of the Mediterranean World Economic Foresight Institute (L’Institut de Prospective Economique du Monde Méditerranéen – IPEMED).
This came on the sidelines of the minister’s participation at the Economic Forum on the Future of Economic Relations between Egypt and France, held by the Arab World Institute in Paris.
Daily News Egypt reported in mid-June that sources said Nasr is expected to visit France and participate in the forum, noting that she is scheduled to meet Delphine Gény-Stephann, secretary of state to French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, along with officials from Agence Francaise De Developpement (French Development Agency, AFD).
The MoU aims at enhancing regional and investment cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region and promoting investment opportunities in Egypt’s private sector investment map to 44 countries in the region.
Nasr said that the ministry will work on developing bilateral cooperation with IPEMED in the areas of manufacturing, transportation, water, and energy.
She pointed to the importance of promoting integration between Europe, the Mediterranean region, and Africa.
For his part, Guigou explained that the MoU also aims at raising awareness on available economic opportunities in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries.
On the other hand, Jeremy Bellet, deputy executive director of AFD, during his meeting with Nasr, announced that the agency agreed to support Egypt in the coming period in the field of social protection with €60m in funding and the allocation of another €2m as a grant for technical support.
Bellet praised the economic reforms carried out by Egypt, stressing the agency’s keenness to support Egypt’s economic programme.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the future vision of Egyptian-French development cooperation and the expected areas of cooperation in the coming period, such as renewable energy projects and agricultural sector development.
Egypt has been implementing an economic reform programme in agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for nearly two years. The programme has contributed to an increase in the GDP growth rate to above 5% during the first nine months of this fiscal year, in addition to controlling the budget deficit, reducing the unemployment rate, and increasing foreign exchange reserves.
