Egypt's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Cooperation Ziad Baha El-Din held multiple meetings with officials in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Monday, seeking to bolster the bilateral cooperation between his country and the global lender institution. The Egyptian interim government is aiming to attract the EBRD to carry out operations in Egypt besides the country's founding membership in the bank. The meetings have notably tackled EBRD's ongoing enterprises in Egypt in sectors of power, water, sanitation, transport, education and health. Baha El-Din has stressed that the core aim during the current phase is enlisting Egypt in EBRD's operation countries, noting that such a transition shall make all the EBRD's potentials more accessible for Egypt. Moreover, the minister announced that EBRD is currently in talks with the Egyptian private sector over the execution of several enterprises for the year of 2014 with total investments worth € 158 million. However, he said the Egyptian authorities have to exert more efforts to reassure the EBRD officials that Egypt is making progress towards implementing political stability, referring that the completion of the final draft on the country's new constitution is a landmark step, but the most important now is to be followed by making the referendum. Baha El-Din added by saying Egypt has submitted a formal request so as to become one of EBRD's operation countries; such a step that would enable the cash-strapped North African country to obtain all the facilitations and support from the global lender. The Egyptian minister departed for London on Sunday for a two-day visit to discuss means of cooperation between EBRD and Egypt.
