Egypt and the European Union (EU) discussed, future projects in the energy, water, trade and local development sectors, on Sunday.
The projects, worth €110m come as part of the €500 Single Support Framework (SSF) for EU to Egypt 2017-2020.
According to the press statement released the meeting was attended by Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr, ambassador Ivan Surkos Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt, Mahmoud Shaarawy, Minister of Local Development, Yasmine Fuad, Minister of Environment, Mehab Memish, Chairperson of the Suez Canal Authority, and Suez Canal Economic Zone(SCZone), and Mohamed Shaker, Minister of Electricity.
Nasr, said the EU is one of the most important international development partners, and that the SSF to fund water and sanitation projects, civil society, vocational training, administrative reform, internal trade, cultural heritage and public finance.
She added that an international conference will be held in the Suez Canal in cooperation with the EU.
The conference will focus on the renewable energy sector, facilitating measures to inject more investments into Egypt, supporting the local development program.
On the other hand, Shaker said that the main objective of cooperation with the EU is to increase reliance on renewable energy, increase its share of the total energy produced in Egypt, and improve the efficiency of production and distribution.
For his part, Shaarawy said that four projects have been agreed with the EU in regards to local development and the governorates.
He pointed out that these projects include training and rehabilitation of human cadres and workers, modernisation of information technology centres in governorates, the establishment of the development centre, and the empowerment of women leaders in the governorates.
Moreover, according to Mamish the cooperation with the EU includes supporting the infrastructure and conducting studies of a general outline of some areas within the SCZone.
In regards to environmental cooperation, Fuad explained that the two sides agreed on the implementation of projects in communities most affected by climate change, which will provide new employment opportunities for young people, support recycling and waste management and raise awareness of children and young people of good practices for the preservation of the environment.
These projects will be launched through the EU-funded Program for Environment Support and Response to Climate Change, at a cost of €20m, Fouad explained.
