Egypt’s Trade and Industry Minister Ahmed Samir said Monday that the Egyptian government is keen on benefiting from mechanisms and finance programs offered by the African Development Bank (AfDB) to develop the industrial and agricultural sectors.
This should help achieve comprehensive and sustainable development and uplift the national economy, Samir said during a meeting with President of the AfDB Akinwumi Adesina.
The meeting took up AfDB current and future projects in Egypt.
The minister hailed as important the role played by the AfDB to achieve food and drug security in Africa.
Samir and Adesina discussed AfDB efforts to achieve comprehensive agricultural development in African countries through pumping 1.5 billion dollars to boost food security in the continent and support agricultural research.
The program aims to achieve self-sufficiency in grains in Africa with the help of some 12 million African farmers, the minister added.
He stressed the need to benefit from AfDB programs and expertise in increasing the productivity of wheat in Egypt through introducing new strains based on advanced technologies.
The Egyptian government is also seeking good use of an ambitious AfDB plan to build potentials and upgrade the efficiency of pharmaceutical companies in Africa, the minister said. This, he added, is done through providing training to cadres and securing the infrastructure needed to have a real pharmaceutical industry in the continent.
Samir also talked about promoting Egyptian exports to African countries through the different AfDB branches across the continent.
He also touched upon the important role played by the AfDB to upgrade small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through a 160-million-dollar funding offered to Banque Misr.
Samir also welcomed an AfDB desire to establish integrated industrial-agricultural zones in Egypt.
For his part, Adesina said the AfDB is interested in boosting cooperation relations with Egypt, which is a prominent development partner.
The AfDB is working to achieve sustainable development in African countries; helping localize advanced-technology industries, especially new and renewable energy, in the continent, Adesina said. He cited AfDB contribution to the implementation of the Benban Solar Park in Egypt’s Aswan.
The AfDB president invited the Egyptian trade and industry minister to attend the upcoming Africa Investment Forum (AIF).
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