Int’l Coop. Ministry Reviews a Report on Partnerships With EIB

The Minister of International Cooperation, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, is visiting the headquarters of the EIB, the financing arm of the European Union and the Climate Bank for Europe and one of the largest multilateral development partners of the Arab Republic of Egypt, in light of the close and historical relations with the EIB.

This is the first visit since the new President of the Bank, Nadia Calvino, assumed her new position.

In this report, the Ministry of International Cooperation reviews 25 pieces of information about the joint relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the EIB, in light of the role that the Ministry plays in developing and strengthening economic relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners and international institutions, in a way that enhances the country’s development vision.

? The EIB is the financing arm of the European Union and the Climate Bank for Continental Europe, one of the largest international multilateral institutions in the world, and one of the largest providers of climate finance, providing financial and non-financial services in more than 160 countries around the world.

? Joint relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the EIB began in 1979, as the Bank, as the financing arm of the European Union, works to provide soft development financing and technical support for projects for the governmental and private sectors.

Since this date, the Bank has pumped investments worth €13.7 billion into the governmental and private sectors.

? The EIB opened its first office in Cairo in 2003. It is the bank’s first office outside the European Union, which reflects the weight that the Arab Republic of Egypt enjoys with the European Union and the distinguished relations with European financial institutions.

? The year 2020 represented a new starting point for joint relations between Egypt and the EIB, as a joint statement was issued to enhance economic cooperation and support relations with the government and private sectors, during a meeting with Al-Mashat, and the Director of the Finance Operations of the EIB, Mrs. Flavia Balanza.

? In light of cooperation with the European Union, a new partnership framework was developed with the EIB for the years 2021-2027, which enhances areas of joint cooperation, especially in the sectors of health, education, environment, energy, water treatment, transportation, agriculture, and supply, and supports joint work with the private sector, within the framework of the Team Europe initiative, through which it targets the European Commission and the EU Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), aims to stimulate the green transition and promote sustainable development efforts.

? In 2020, the EIB launched the Climate Roadmap 2021-2025, which highlights how the Bank will support climate action through several key points including: ensuring a just transition for all, supporting the Paris Agreement-compliant process, and accelerating the transition by green financing, building strategic cohesion and accountability, and the Bank Group aims through this plan to implement its ambitious agenda to support €1 trillion in climate action and environmental sustainability investments in the decade until 2030 and to provide more than 50% of the EIB’s financing for climate action and environmental sustainability by 2025.

? These trends are consistent with Egypt’s priorities in light of the launch of the National Climate Change Strategy for 2050, the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and the Ministry of International Cooperation’s efforts to strengthen relations with development partners to mobilize soft development financing, technical support, and private sector investments to support the green transformation in Egypt.

? During the year 2022, as Egypt prepared to host and chair COP27, that period witnessed a significant development in the joint relations between Egypt and the EIB, which was then chairing the group of multilateral development banks.

During the activities of the Egypt Forum for International Cooperation and Development Finance (Egypt-ICF), in its second edition, the Ministry of International Cooperation organized a meeting co-chaired by the Bank and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for multilateral development banks, where effective discussions took place on joint cooperation, especially in the field of climate action and green transformation, and supporting the NWFE program.

? The EIB plays a vital role in implementing the projects of the NWFE program, the link between water, food and energy projects. It also plays the role of the main development partner in the sustainable transport pillar NWFE+. Earlier, the EIB pledged to provide financing worth €4 billion in 2030 for the NWFE program.

? The EIB is the largest financing development partner for the private sector in Egypt, and according to the annual report of the Ministry of International Cooperation, the total financing and investments made available by the bank in the period from 2020 to 2023 amounted to about $2.8 billion.

? The Arab Republic of Egypt is the largest country of operations for the EIB, outside the European Union countries, in light of the multiplicity of mechanisms and areas of joint cooperation and in view of the great development efforts undertaken by the country and the number of private sector companies with which the Bank deals.

? On the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Bank’s office in Cairo, relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the EIB entered a new phase, by transforming the Bank’s office in Cairo into a regional center.

This was done during the conference organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation in November 2023 in the presence of H.E. the Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Al-Mashat, and Ms. Gelsomina Vigilotti, Vice President of the Bank.

? Choosing Cairo to launch the European Investment Bank’s regional hub is a testimony of confidence in the strength of the relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and European partners.

It also comes as a culmination of decades of joint work and cooperation to formulate and implement many priority development projects in various fields of development and green transformation, which have had a positive impact on Egyptian citizens.

? The Bank’s Regional Hub contributes to strengthening its presence in the region and advances South-South cooperation. Mr. Guido Clary heads the Bank’s Regional Hub in Egypt, along with a team of technical and financial experts, and cooperates through the Regional Center with 6 offices across the region.

? The value of the ongoing cooperation portfolio to finance state development projects amounts to $3.6 billion to finance 18 development projects in various sectors, including transportation, environment, water and sanitation, small and medium-sized companies, and civil aviation.

? Furthermore, from 2020 to 2023, the ongoing cooperation portfolio amounts to $1.896 billion in development finance grants and technical assistance to finance 7 projects in diverse sectors, including transportation, environment, water and wastewater, making it the second largest development partner on the planet.

The level of the European team that provided development funds to Egypt during that period and the first European partner that provided funds to Egypt at the level of the public and private sectors.

? In addition to development financing, the EIB is strengthening technical support for the government and private sectors, and in preparation for COP27, the Ministry of International Cooperation coordinated with the Bank to provide training courses for cadres of the Egyptian ministries concerned with climate action, including agriculture, irrigation, finance, environment and foreign affairs, on climate financing, financing climate adaptation and resilience.

The Bank also provided many technical support programmes, including technical support to the Ministry of International Cooperation, on preparing the Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing.

? The Ministry of International Cooperation strengthened its cooperation with the EIB in the field of women’s empowerment, as the Women’s Summit 2022 was organized within the framework of the Bank’s presidency of the Multilateral Development Banks Working Group, in cooperation with many development partners and national bodies, with the aim of supporting the advancement of women’s empowerment efforts. and gender equality to achieve a more resilient future.

?Al-Mashat participated in the Participation Council between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the European Union, in the Belgian capital, Brussels, last January, where she reviewed a detailed report under the title "Egypt & Team Europe:

A Shared Development Vision For Progress & Prosperity" to review the distinguished cooperation with the institutions of the Team Europe Initiative during 2020-2023.

The EIB is one of the institutions within this initiative that outlines the features of cooperation between Egypt and the European Union.