Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Co-operation and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdel-Aati on Sunday met Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) board chairman Fahad Al-Dosari to discuss boosting co-operation and supporting Egyptian companies operating on the continent.
Abdel-Aati, who is also Egypt’s governor at BADEA, described the partnership with the bank as a cornerstone of Arab-African co-operation, according to a statement by foreign ministry spokesman Tamim Khalaf.
He stressed Egypt’s commitment to advancing sustainable development and economic co-operation across Africa and highlighted his previous meeting with Al-Dosari in Washington, DC, on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Spring Meetings.
He called for building on its outcomes through specific and actionable co-operation tracks.
He added that the foreign minister underscored Egypt’s accumulated expertise in implementing infrastructure and sustainable development projects in African countries and affirmed that supporting development in Africa remains a steadfast priority of Egyptian foreign policy.
He expressed hope that BADEA would expand its support for Egyptian development initiatives, particularly through financing mechanisms for studying and implementing development and infrastructure projects, as well as technical assistance and capacity-building programmes implemented by the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development.
Abdel-Aati also called for BADEA support to enhance intra-African trade in cooperation with Egyptian banking institutions, including financing exports and imports, supply chains, guarantees and risk-sharing instruments.
Such measures, he said, would increase intra-African trade, expand access for Egyptian products to African markets and support the objectives of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
