Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat has met with Marina Wes, the World Bank Group’s Country Director for Egypt, Yemen and Djibouti, to discuss future areas of cooperation with the World Bank.
During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the ongoing portfolio of projects, as well as the current negotiations as part of the development policies financing framework. This was in addition to the second phase of the structural reforms that the Egyptian Government is implementing.
During the meeting, Minister Al-Mashat and Wes discussed current projects that are being implemented in 2021 as part of the strategic partnership between Egypt and the World Bank.
They also tackled the development of the ongoing negotiations with the World Bank Group on obtaining development policy financing. This is geared to supporting the second phase of structural reforms that the Egyptian Government seeks to implement to achieve economic growth.
This is based on three pillars: enhancing financial sustainability; pushing for green recovery, enhancing the private sector’s engagement in development efforts; and enhancing women’s engagement in the economy.
The minister applauded the successful cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank, which supports the country’s efforts to achieve development across several sectors, including transportation, housing and utilities, environment, health, and many other fields of cooperation.
Minister Al-Mashat also noted that, in 2020, the development financing agreements signed with the World Bank across different sectors amounted to $1.5bn.
For her part, Wes praised the World Bank’s cooperation with Egypt as a strategic partner, and expressed her aspiration for more cooperation programmes to support development plans.
Wes also applauded the Ministry of International Cooperation’s role in coordinating between several governmental entities to implement effective cooperation programmes.
The Ministry of International Cooperation and the World Bank share a portfolio of $5.4 bn, encompassing: transportation; education; housing; health; social safety nets; and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The portfolio of cooperation is in line with the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs), namely: SDG 1: No Poverty; SDG 3: Good Health and Well-Being; SDG 4: Quality Education; and SDG 5: Gender Equality.
