The volume of development cooperation between Japan International Cooperation Agency and Egypt surged to US$ 5.3 billion at 2013-end, JICA's Egypt Office Chief Representative Hideki Matsunaga announced on Monday. The figures were 20% less than expected since JICA forecasted US$ 6 billion as a volume of development ties with Egypt, he noted, referring to the decline in Japan's yen as a key factor. In a keynote speech at MEDA Finance 2014 event in Cairo on Monday, Matsunaga said JICA is giving funding assistance for around 40 projects in Egypt in addition to commitments and grants at value of US$ 1.5 billion. Egypt's development cooperation with the Japanese agency dates back to 1970s. The third Euro-Mediterranean Conference and Exhibition on Donor Funding, Banking and Novel Funding Instruments, under the title of MEDA Finance 2014, kicked off on Sunday in Cairo. Under the auspice of interim Prime Minister Hazem El-Beblawi, the two-day conference aims to provide private sector businesses in the Mediterranean region with a total funding of $22m from international development agencies in the form of grants, technical assistance and credit lines.
