Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance and Governor of Egypt at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), said that Egypt welcomes hosting the annual meetings of the Bank next September in Sharm El-Sheikh, as an important platform for discussing the strategies for formulating available opportunities to deepen cooperation with international and regional development partners and maximize local and international investments in vital sectors.
“We aim to strengthen multilateral development partnerships between international and regional development finance institutions and developing countries, in a way that is consistent with the state’s efforts to promote Egyptian investment opportunities, and expand the role of the Asian Bank in Development funds for the private sector,” he added.
In his meeting with the Vice President of AIIB, Luky Eko Wuryanto, Maait said that Egypt is looking forward to expanding the role of the Bank for the private sector. It plans to do that by creating a stimulating environment for domestic and foreign investment, thanking the bank for the continuous support that Egypt received from The Asian Bank, especially in the most important national projects. “We are proud of the fruitful bilateral cooperation with the bank, and it also welcomes the size of the bank’s investment portfolio in Egypt, which has exceeded $1bn since the start of joint cooperation in 2016, as Egypt is one of the founding countries of the bank, and the largest shareholder in the bank from the countries of the African continent,” he noted.
The Minister of Finance affirmed Egypt’s keenness on enhancing means of cooperation with international institutions, in line with the Egyptian tendency to diversify financing sources, as it looks forward to the first issuance of panda bonds in Chinese yuan in the Chinese market for a country from Africa and the Middle East during the coming period, to establish social and environmentally friendly projects. He also reviewed the government’s efforts to launch the first issuance of sovereign Islamic sukuk in Egypt’s history, at a value of $1.5bn.
On the other hand, the Asian Vice President of AIIB said that the bank is looking forward to holding the next board meeting in Egypt, as it is filled with confidence that this important event will come out in the best possible way, in a way that befits Egypt’s international standing, as well as the bank’s role in developing investments and projects of interest.
