Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held a meeting in the United Kingdom with a number of officials, including Diana Layfield, Executive Director of the British International Investment (CDC); Mafalda Duarte, CEO of the Climate Investment Fund’ and Louis Taylor, the Chief Executive of the UK’s Export Finance; in the presence of Sherif Kamel, Egypt’s Ambassador to the UK.
To leapfrog to a better form of growth that can deliver on both development and climate goals, a major ramp-up in the scale and quality of financing is required to support Egypt and Africa’s adaptation to climate change.
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) estimates that adaptation costs alone will be in a range of $140bn to $300bn per year by 2030, and $280bn to $500bn annually by 2050.
Al-Mashat discussed with Taylor opportunities to mobilise blended financing and increase support for the private sector, particularly due to the risks of the impact of the Ukraine-Russia crisis on mobilising financing to the private sector as well as opportunities to strengthen cooperation with the UK’s Export Credit Agency.
Previously, UK Export Finance — a government trade agency — approved £1.7bn ($2.3bn) in loan guarantees for a credit package for a monorail system connecting the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to the newly built administrative capital in the east, and to Sixth of October City in the southwest.
Through strategic integration of all partnership strategies, Al-Mashat highlighted her ministry’s strategy integrations with the British International Investment’s strategy for the period from 2022-2026, which serves three main priorities — productive development, sustainable development, and inclusive development.
The meetings also touched on Egypt’s bold vision for the Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) that will be this November in Sharm El-Sheikh and will include the participation of women, youths, and civil society organisation, and the opportunities to develop a global framework for innovative financing to implement the UN’s sustainable development goals at full scale and speed.
For her part, Duarte said that Egypt is a leading country in climate action among developing countries with its hosting of the upcoming COP 27, explaining that with joint action, the pace of funding can be accelerated, which is reflected in improving people’s lives and preserving human life, the planet, and prosperity.
