Egypt and the United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), signed on Sunday four bilateral assistance agreements worth $59 million. The agreements aim to support Egypt's development priorities in health, higher education, trade, investment, science and technology, as well as boost inclusive, enterprise-driven development in line with Egypt's Vision 2030 Sustainable Development Strategy, said the U.S. embassy in Cairo in a statement. Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr said "these agreements will increase American investments in the domestic market in cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce.” The agreements will be used to support SMEs and entrepreneurship, improve technical and vocational education and to boost the work force, Nasr added. “USAID has been an economic partner with Egypt's government for many years, introducing a total of $30 billion so far, while American investments in Egypt hit $22 billion by the end of 2018." the Egyptian minister said. "Some American companies have injected new investments and expanded in others by about $1 billion during FY 2017/18,” Meanwhile, Sherry F. Carlin – USAID Mission Director to Egypt – said that “these agreements … reflect our strong and enduring partnership with the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and our continuing commitment to economic and social inclusion for the Egyptian people." The healthcare agreement builds on USAID's longstanding support for Egypt's health priorities through its partnership with the Ministry of Health and Population, the US embassy's statement added. Together, the focus will be on improving healthy behaviours, enhancing the quality of health services, and supporting research, monitoring, and training in key areas such as voluntary family planning. “Through the higher education agreement, the U.S. is supporting Egypt's priority in aligning the skills of graduates with market needs." the statement said. USAID's work in the new agreement will also help increase the capacity of Egypt's higher education institutions to contribute solutions to solve development challenges in the country. “The trade and investment agreement facilitates USAID's ongoing partnership with the government of Egypt in creating a business environment in which the private sector can grow and become more competitive." "This partnership is especially focused on promoting inclusiveness and sustainability for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises by focusing on small businesses that specifically provide jobs for youth and women." As for science and technology agreement, it maintains Washington's commitment to joint research between U.S. and Egyptian scientists. "USAID's work in this area (science and technology) addresses development challenges and promotes economic growth, with a focus on applied scientific research and technology commercialisation.”
