Egyptian Minister of International Co-operation Rania el-Mashaat on Monday met with Keiko Miwa, World Bank (WB) Regional Director for Human Development covering the Middle East and North Africa region.
They discussed cooperation agreements between Egypt and the WB as well as national strategies to invest in human capital.
Marina Weiss, Regional Director of the WB office in Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti, attended the meeting.
This comes within the framework of the periodic meetings held by the minister of international cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners to boost joint cooperation and advance Egypt’s Vision 2030 through development financing agreements and accelerate the implementation of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy. (SDS).
The discussions dealt with efforts undertaken by the Egyptian state to improve the standard living of citizens and enhance investment in human capital.
El-Mashaat stressed that the state has launched a number of development projects and national initiatives in various sectors to improve the quality of public services.
The minister talked about future opportunities for cooperation between Egypt and the WB Group in matters of health, education and women’s empowerment.
Mashaat also discussed co-operation in the provision of Covid-19 vaccines.
The minister stressed the strategic partnership between Egypt and the WB Group, noting that the bank had contributed to the implementation of many projects that help improve the standards of living.
The WB has financed education development project with a value of $500 million, in addition to advancing health sector through the comprehensive health insurance project, as well as social protection and housing programmes.
The minister said that the government has attached paramount importance to investment in human capital as per directives of the political leadership to improve the standard of living of citizens.
The president launched the ‘Decent Life’ presidential initiative to develop basic services in Egyptian rural communities, el-Mashaat told the visiting WB officials.
The WB Regional Director for Human Development hailed efforts by the Egyptian state to combat the coronavirus pandemic and mitigate its negative repercussions.
This, in turn, contributed to maintaining Egypt’s credit rating by international institutions.
The ongoing development cooperation portfolio with the World Bank includes 17 projects in various sectors, including education, health, transportation, social solidarity, petroleum, housing, sanitation, local development and the environment, with a value of $5.8 billion.
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