Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held a meeting with a World Bank delegation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to chart the roadmap for climate action and a green economy transition in Egypt. Cooperating with global partners, the ministry is stepping up the role of private sector finance to drive climate action through blended finance. The meeting discussed future roadmaps between Egypt and the MIGA to promote the private sector in development through ESG principles as well as preparations for the Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR), which will help Egypt align climate action and development. Furthermore, Al-Mashat underlined that environmental analysis and adaptation frameworks integrate climate change risks into existing development priorities to assist decision makers in identifying responsive strategies to changes in climate. In light of Egypt's preparations to host the UN's Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27), the meeting discussed cooperation with the World Bank in this regard, which includes financing for climate action, enhancing technical support, and spurring knowledge exchange, in addition to organising events and activities that push towards the integration of climate action with all sustainable development goals (SDGs). For her part, Ayat Soliman, the Regional Director for the World Bank's Sustainable Development Department for the Middle East and North Africa, referred to the ongoing consultations between all technical teams from the World Bank, the ministry, and other relevant authorities to coordinate priorities in order to ensure complementarity among national and global objectives. Layali Abdeen, the Senior Investment Guarantee Officer at MIGA, said that the agency held meetings with private sector companies to enhance partnerships and unlock opportunities for the private sector to participate in development projects, with one success story being the Benban Solar Park in Upper Egypt, which involved a hundred Egyptian private companies and created around 640 jobs besides 18,000 temporary ones. In terms of preparing for the development of the future strategic partnership axes between Egypt and the World Bank and the timetable for its preparation, Al-Mashat stressed the importance of continuous coordination regarding the priorities of the new plan to be in line with the state's vision as well as strengthening cooperation with the private sector and civil society so that the strategy reflects national priorities and efforts to achieve sustainable development, stimulate the transition towards a green economy, and the participation of the private sector in development. The minister also discussed the developments of the ongoing portfolio of cooperation with the World Bank Group, which serves various priority areas of development for the country.
