CAIRO – Egypt’s International Co-operation Minister Rania el-Mashat lauded strategic relations between Egypt and the EU, which is seen as one of the most important international multilateral partners.
She said the Egypt-EU ties saw a significant progress in the past few years, especially in light of the State’s strategy for achieving sustainable development.
El-Mashat made the remarks during her meeting on Sunday with EU Ambassador in Cairo Christian Berger to advance development cooperation between the two sides.
The international cooperation minister pointed to the agreements reached with the European bloc in 2021, including a grant worth 58 million euro to support the State’s development efforts in several sectors and an additional grant worth 80 million euro to back the health sector in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
She asserted the importance of fostering cooperation with the EU in the coming period, through establishing further partnerships.
El-Mashat and Berger mulled future projects, as part of the 2021-2027 Egypt-EU strategy that focuses on rural development, transport, energy and green transformation.
The pair tackled cooperation in climate change adaptation projects, especially as the country is poised to host the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El Sheikh in November.
On his part, the EU ambassador shed light on the key role played by the European bloc to back Egypt’s development efforts.
The EU is willing to boost cooperation with the Egyptian government in the next period, Berger said.
Egypt’s cooperation portfolio with the EU currently stands at around 1.35 billion euro, which covers the sectors of transportation, small and medium-sized enterprises, sustainable energy, environment, social protection, stability promotion, governance, capacity building and civil society. (MENA)
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