Agreement with Japan to Support energy sector

EGYPT and Japan have concluded a key agreement for the provision of $240 million in Japanese support of energy sector development, per a statement by the International Co-operation Ministry.

The agreement comes in pursuance of the existing frameworks for strategic co-operation between the two countries with the aim of promoting sustainable development in many sectors, International Co-operation Minister Rania al-Mashat said in the statement issued following the signing ceremony yesterday.

Signing the agreement on the Egyptian side were Minister Mashat and Finance Mohamed Maait while the Japanese side was represented by the Japanese Ambassador in Cairo, Noke Masaki and the Director of the Japanese International Cooperation Authority (JICA) in Cairo.

The size of the loan is the largest since the second loan for the Grand Egyptian Museum and a loan for the electricity sector, both in October 2016,

Minister of International Cooperation  Rania Al-Mashat and Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait signed an agreement with the Japanese government, represented by the Japanese Embassy and the Japanese International Cooperation Authority in Cairo (JICA), that secures $240 million (25 billion Japanese Yen) in development financing for the energy sector and budget support.

The agreement was signed at the Ministry of International Cooperation headquarters in the presence of Deputy Minister of Finance, Ahmed Kouchouk; First Under Secretary of the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Ahmed Mohayna; the Japanese Ambassador in Cairo, Noke Masaki; the Director of JICA in Cairo, Mr. Yoshifumi Omura; and representatives from both of the aforementioned line ministries and Japan.

This comes within the framework of the Ministry of International Cooperation’s efforts in securing funds from multilateral and bilateral development partners to support the government’s action plan to combat COVID-19, to implement the National Development Agenda 2030 that is in line with the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to finance the budget support program, and to develop reform policies for the electricity sector while promoting green growth and sustainable development, and mitigating the impact of climate change in Egypt.

Al-Mashat expressed that this development financing is a positive step towards achieving a stronger energy sector. She notes that the agreement of this funding reflects the strategic cooperation frameworks between Egypt and Japan which extends to many sectors with the aim of achieving sustainable development.