Int'l Cooperation Ministry Highlights Aspects of Egypt-WBG Cooperation

The International Cooperation Ministry reviewed the most significant features of development cooperation between Egypt and the World Bank Group (WBG).

This came in a report, issued by the ministry,in conjunction with International Cooperation Minister Rania el Mashat's participation in the 2022 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) & the WBG, held from October 10 to 16, under the theme “Unity in a Time of Crises”.

The World Bank Group (WBG) is one of Egypt’s most important multilateral development partners, and since 2014, great development within the framework of the country’s national agenda has been witnessed, including efforts to enhance multilateral cooperation, according to the report.

Egypt and the WBG share a development cooperation portfolio covering 14 ongoing projects worth almost $7 billion up until October, as well as 23 projects with technical support and consultancy.

This is in addition to joint efforts to enhance private sector participation in development through cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), both part of the WBG.

The cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the WBG includes several projects such as the: Strengthening Social Safety Nets Projects worth $900 million, the Sustainable Rural Sanitation Services Program for Results worth $850 million, and the Upper Egypt Local Development project worth $500 million.

Moreover, the portfolio also includes the Supporting Egypt Education Reform Project worth $500 million, Catalyzing Entrepreneurship for Job Creation project worth $200 million, the Transforming Egypt’s Healthcare System Project worth $530 million, the Egypt Inclusive Growth for Sustainable Recovery project worth $360 million, Supporting Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System with $400 million, the Greater Cairo Air Pollution Management & Climate Change Project with $200 million, the Egypt COVID-19 Emergency Response with $50 million, the Railway Improvement & Safety for Egypt Project worth $440 million, the Cairo Alexandria Trade Logistics Development Project worth $400 million, and the Emergency Food Security & Resilience Support Project worth $500 million.

The ongoing development cooperation portfolio also covers a variety of sectors with water covering 13%, health, nutrition & population 15%, finance, competitiveness & innovation 18%, transportation 12%, social protection & jobs 13%, agriculture & food 7%, education 7%, environment, natural resources & blue economy 3%, macroeconomics, trade & investment 5%, and urban resilience 7%. With regards to the cooperation with the MIGA, the portfolio includes $480 million directed to a variety of private sector companies, especially those operating in the field of renewable energy.

In 2022, the MIGA issued guarantees to Virtuo Finance at a value of $98 million in support of the Norwegian company Scatac, to help implement renewable energy projects in Egypt.