The Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation (MALC) will focus on boosting the agricultural production of Egypt’s rural areas, in cooperation with international partners including France, the MALC’s Minister, Ezz El-Din Abu Steit, said.
“We have already completed a successful cooperation with France worth of €40m on a field irrigation programme and we will discuss with them a second phase of the cooperation,” the minister added during his speech at the event that was organised by the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI Francaise en Egypte) on Tuesday.
The MALC will focus on rural areas to improve the living conditions of citizens and help eliminate local migration to urban areas, the minister clarified. He noted that three governorates; Al Qaliubiya, Menoufiya, and Beheira are benefiting from international technical assistance to improve the quality of farms as competitive centres for exports.
“We thank the French side for its interest to boost agricultural cooperation with Egypt. We hope we will announce new partnerships between both countries’ companies soon,” the minister asserted.
Egypt and France have historical relations especially economically, the minister said, adding that both countries have joint desire to further promote these relations.
Interestingly, cross sector agreements were signed in January 2019 during French President Emmanuel Macron’s first visit to Egypt. The numbers of agreements, letters of intent, and protocols are over 30.
“Both countries’ leaders have exchanged visits and signed many important MoUs. France is one of key international development partners for Egypt,” the minister noted. He asserted that the authorities set the frameworks of cooperation while private sector companies have the responsibilities to transfer the MoUs into reality.
