Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation has revealed that its ongoing development cooperation portfolio includes six projects in the petroleum sector worth a value of $1.12bn. In a press statement issued on Sunday, the ministry added that contributions to the sector's development cooperation portfolio have come from: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB); the Kuwait Fund for Development; and the European Union (EU). These projects contributed to: the delivery of natural gas to about 2.3 million homes; the production of 3 million tonnes of crude oil annually; the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by about 295,000 tonnes; and the provision of about 300,000 MW/h of energy annually. Speaking during a joint coordination cooperation platform for the petroleum and mineral resources sector, Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that the petroleum sector has acquired only 5% of the ministry's total current development cooperation portfolio. She emphasised that the development and reforms that have been implemented in the oil sector reflect the Egyptian government's commitment to move forward with reform plans in various sectors. This comes despite the exceptional circumstances caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has slowed the pace of reforms in many countries. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El Molla noted that the petroleum sector continues to implement its integrated vision for the development and modernisation of the oil, gas, and mining sectors. This is with the aim of unlocking their potential within the framework of Egypt's Vision 2030 for sustainable development and investment. It comes as a result of the positive results seen through the economic reform programme implemented by the Egyptian state. El Molla indicated that the oil and gas sector contributed 24% to the country's GDP during fiscal year (FY) 2019/20. Meanwhile, the sector's total investments during the period from FY 2014/15 to FY 2019/20 amounted to about $74bn.
