Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), on Wednesday, signed a deal to add $22.8m to the five-year Inclusive Economic Governance bilateral assistance agreement.
The funding, which comes In line with Egypt Vision 2030, is intended to improve Egypt’s investment environment and empower women to further join the labour force.
USAID Acting Administrator John Barsa said, “We are pleased to announce that the US is contributing an additional $22.8m to support Egypt’s economic growth and women’s empowerment, as part of a five-year agreement to advance economic growth that benefits all Egyptians.”
He added, “The US looks forward to continuing our partnership to support effective and transparent public institutions, empower women and youth, encourage cooperation between different faith communities, and ensure that all Egyptians benefit from essential services.”
Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that the strategic partnership with the US Government and USAID is sustained through forward-looking development programmes. These are designed to push forward inclusive economic growth in line with the Egyptian state’s vision.
The minister added, “This year, we identified seven priority sectors and allocated additional financing to execute more projects in health, education, higher education, science and technology, agriculture, governance, and trade.”
US Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen said, “Over the past 40 years, the United States has invested over $30bn in Egypt’s development, including helping bring water and sanitation services to over 25 million Egyptians, and helping digitalise and grow the telecommunications sector.”
Other projects include bringing electricity to millions of Egyptian homes and businesses, the conservation of historic sites, assisting farmers, and building thousands of schools. This has also seen training provided to over 100,000 teachers, and eliminating polio in Egypt, among other contributions.
