‘Sharm conf. will raise awareness of green economy’

Egypt is moving towards a green economy and hosting COP 27 conference will raise awareness and achieve growth for green projects here.

This statement by Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala el-Said came during her meeting on Wednesday with Frans Hemstra, Uber’s Regional Director for the Middle East and Africa.

The minister spoke of government interest in supporting the local and foreign private sector to create jobs and contribute to economic growth in all fields.

The government is also interested in investing in technological sectors and giving Egyptian youth opportunities to learn the best software in major international universities.

Egypt is moving towards a green economy, el-Said said, adding that Egypt’s hosting of the COP27 conference will be a milestone in raising awareness and achieving growth for green projects here.

The minister also reviewed the most important projects that the Sovereign Fund of Egypt (SFE) is working on in renewable energy and green hydrogen, which will put Egypt in a distinguished position as one of the most important centres of clean energy in the world and water desalination projects.

For his part, Hemstra affirmed Uber’s focus on sustainability, stressing that Egypt represents an important market for investment in it, especially in light of the efforts made by the state to attract foreign investments.

France emphasised Uber’s global enthusiasm for the COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh this year and highlighted Uber’s commitment to becoming a zero-emissions mobility platform by 2040 globally, which has led to an increase in Uber’s global desire to participate in the conference.

Hemstra reviewed the steps and products that Uber started and expanded its portfolio according to the needs of the Egyptian market.

He also explained that one of the company’s most important products is the UberBus service.

“This service was launched in Egypt, so Cairo became the first city in the world to provide the Uber Shuttle service,” he said.

The company has had 14 million riders using its platforms and 700,000 drivers since the launch of the Uber service in Egypt in 2015.