Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Aati inaugurated on Wednesday the first board meeting of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD), as Cairo moves to strengthen its development footprint across Africa.
Abdel-Aati said the meeting marked a “foundational milestone” for the EAPD and a new institutional phase for enhancing Egypt’s development role regionally and internationally, according to a foreign ministry statement.
The agency was launched following an announcement by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi at the African Union summit in Malabo in July 2014, committing Egypt to support sustainable development and deepen cooperation with partner countries.
EAPD is mandated to support the peoples and nations of the Global South in their pursuit of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
Minister Abdel-Aati said the composition of the board reflects a strategic mix of political leadership, executive expertise, economic capacity, and diplomatic experience, alongside academic depth, to provide effective strategic guidance and maximise the impact of the agency’s programmes.
He added that the agency would prioritise Africa as a central pillar of Egypt’s national security and a key focus of its external engagement, with efforts aimed at building capacity, transferring expertise, and supporting development projects across the continent.
The board includes senior officials and prominent public figures such as Central Bank Governor Hassan Abdalla, Investment and Foreign Trade Minister Mohamed Farid, former Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab, presidential economic adviser Hala El-Said, Federation of Egyptian Banks chairman Mohamed El-Etreby, and UN official Ghada Waly, among others from economic, financial, and development sectors.
The minister said private sector representatives and business leaders would help expand practical partnerships, develop innovative financing mechanisms, and transfer operational expertise in priority sectors, including trade, investment, energy, healthcare, infrastructure, agriculture, and irrigation.
He expressed confidence that the board’s combined expertise would strengthen the agency’s ability to deliver on its development mandate and reinforce Egypt’s role in regional and international development diplomacy.
Participants exchanged views on proposals to expand the agency’s programmes and enhance its role in supporting Egypt’s efforts to build capacity and share expertise with partner countries, particularly in Africa, the statement said.
