The Ministry of International Cooperation has, since January 2020, signed three agreements worth about $885m with Arab funds to finance the Sinai Peninsula Development Program, according to Minister Rania Al-Mashat.
The agreements are aimed at supporting structural reform and raising the efficiency of the government’s management of public finance, as well as strengthen the Ministry of Health’s capacity to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
Minister Al-Mashat stated that an agreement was signed with the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) to support structural and institutional reform efforts. These are aimed at raising the efficiency of public financial management, with a value of AED 153.5m, equivalent to $637.9m.
The minister referred to the strategic partnership with several regional financing funds, especially for the Sinai Peninsula Development Program. The Ministry of International Cooperation has succeeded in signing an agreement worth about KD 75m ($243.2m) through an agreement with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD).
This is directed towards implementing a project establishing a water system as part of the Bahr El-Baqar drainage system.
Al-Mashat noted that the project includes the inauguration of a 20km long waterway, as well as a $1bn project to establsih pumping stations to transport Bahr El-Baqar drainage water in the Suez Canal area.
It will also see the establishment of a treatment plant with a capacity of 5m cbm/day to provide water suitable for the irrigation of 330,000 feddan. Farms for raising livestock and agricultural processing facilities will be established, alongside providing the necessary services to supervise the implementation of the project and follow it up during the maintenance period.
The Ministry of International Cooperation has previously signed three agreements with the under the same framework. One of these was signed with the AFESD, is worth KD 70m ($238m), whilst two agreements worth KD 75m ($255m) were signed with the Kuwait Fund for Development.
Minister Al-Mashat stated that a KD 1m ($3.3m) grant agreement was signed with the AFESD to support the health sector in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic.
Egypt’s cooperation with various Arab funds began in 1974 in several sectors, with these regional funds providing a total cooperation portfolio of about $12.5bn until today. This includes a current portfolio of $6.9bn, provided by the Kuwait Fund for Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Abu Dhabi Fund, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, and the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development.
