Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb and Sultan Ahmed Al-Jaber, the UAE's Minister of State, were present at the signing of an agreement to subsidise and fund micro-projects worth $200m on Monday. Minister of International Cooperation, Naglaa El-Ahwany, signed the agreement with Hussain Jasim Al-Nowais, Chairman of the Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development. Managing Director of the Social Fund for Development (SFD), Soha Soliman, also signed an agreement with Ibrahim Al-Mansouri, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Khalifa Fund on projects in which the SFD is responsible for implementation. The agreement targets the poorest rural areas, and areas where women and youth are most in need, through funding an integrated series of micro-projects. Of the funds, 75% will be allocated to rural areas, and 25% to projects for women. It is estimated the projects implemented under the agreement will number approximately 197,624, of which 49,383 projects will be run by women. The total number of job opportunities generated by the will roughly be 167,706 opportunities, helping to jumpstart the production wheel up through societal participation. The initiative will also encourage the concept of labour not conducted under the presence of unions, by producing, innovating, and developing more, all of which is consistent with current government strategy. El-Ahwany announced that the agreement reflects the strength of relations and depth of the common links between Egypt and the UAE, adding that the agreement will be develop continuously. She added the lending term will last 15 years, with a grace period of six years.
