The Egyptian and German governments agreed to allocate soft development funds and grants from the German side worth €151.5m, to finance 15 development projects. Funds will be allocated to technical education, vocational training, innovation support in the private sector, immigration, the labour market, administrative reform, urban development, energy efficiency and renewable energy, Egypt's Ministry of International Cooperation announced on Wednesday. This aims to support Egypt's development vision and its quest to achieve sustainable development goals. The agreement came during the annual round of negotiations between the Egyptian and German governments for 2021. The Egyptian side was headed by Sherihan Bakhit, Assistant Minister of International Cooperation, while the German side was headed by Mario Sander, Head of the Development Cooperation with the Middle-East at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The talks aimed to set the general framework for the projects that will be financed through the allocations provided by the German government to the Egyptian government for the next year. 45 representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Electricity and Renewable Energy; Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities; Environment Trade and Industry; Education and Technical Education; Emigration; Manpower; Local Development; Central Agency for Organisation and Administration; Credit Guarantee Company; Financial Regulatory Authority, and Banque de Caire participated in the meetings. Moreover, the German side was represented by 24 delegates from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development; Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy; Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Security; German Federal Foreign Office; German Embassy in Cairo; German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ), and KfW Development Bank. Delegations from both sides initialled the agreement in preparation for the final signing during the coming period. The ongoing development cooperation portfolio with Germany amounts to €1.7bn, through which 30 projects have been financed in the form of loans, technical support grants, financial contributions and debt exchange. Also on Wednesday, the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (AHK Egypt) together with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AAST) 'Graduate School of Business Smart Village' signed a Memoranda of Understanding to cooperate on various fields to strengthen and grow Egyptian companies' capabilities and enhance capacity building through education and Training. Jan Nother, CEO of AHK Egypt, and Prof Dr Ismail Abdel Ghaffar Ismail Farag, President of AAST stressed the importance of investing in further education and training and exchange of knowledge to develop a highly-skilled, competitive Egyptian workforce. The signing ceremony took place in Arab Academy, Graduate School of Business Smart Village headed by Dr Cherine Soliman Dean Graduate School of Business and attended by Amr Khalifa Head of Training of the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
