Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is discussing with Egypt's government the country's strategy for the next five years, Fabio Grazi, AFD's country director in Egypt, told Daily News Egypt, adding, "we are now preparing the country's strategy. Many of our projects are traditionally related to the infrastructure sector, water sanitation, and urban development." The strategy will move towards implementing new projects in the social dimension of health and education, which are also Egyptian government priorities, added Grazi, noting, "we are in close coordination with the government of Egypt." Grazi denied defining the expected amount of finance that AFD will allocate for its five-year strategy, mentioning, "funds are still under discussions with the government of Egypt. We know that there are demands and needs in the Egyptian market and we are committed to implement more projects considering the priorities of the government." AFD's operations support the equal employment opportunities, affirmed Grazi, adding, "we really look for women to be more and more involved in the job market. We are committed to entail the gender dimension in our projects. for example, in our transportation projects, we really look for a place for women to have access to transportation safely." Additionally, about 11 French firms' delegation begins a visit to Egypt on Monday including Cairo and the New Administrative Capital to discuss the possibilities of joint cooperation with their Egyptian counterparts, according to a Sunday' statement of Business France in Egypt. The delegation looks forward to new partnerships with Egypt in the fields of services and business markets as well as entering the African markets, added the statement, noting that the delegation will stay in Egypt from 3 to 5 December. Business France in collaboration with the French embassy in Egypt, will organise the French delegation and hold some meetings with financial institutions as well as Egyptian counterparts, aiming to boost the joint economic partnerships as well as offer new solutions for Egyptian entrepreneurs. The Egyptian government achieved massive progress in developing its economy, trade and investment activities due to the brave reforms, said the statement, affirming that Egypt enjoys high population, strategic location and influence the Arab world. Egypt developed its economic relations with Europe, neighbouring countries in the far and Middle East, noted the report, mentioning that Europe is the first trade and investment partner for Egypt as well as the country's first source for developmental assistance. The authorities received funds from the many financial institutions where France is a member such as the EU, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), European Investment Bank (EIB), the World Bank Group (WBG), African Development Bank (AFD) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB). The statement noted that AFD supports Egypt's government in implementing many developmental projects in the current transaction period as well as offering bilateral assistance and providing the government and the public enterprises with loans for more sustainable growth. Egypt enjoys several trade opportunities where French companies are very active with presence of 160 companies in Egypt, said the statement.
