The Ministry of International Cooperation and the French Development Agency (AFD) launched a new country strategy this week that will last until 2025 and falls under the theme 'Towards Shared Prosperity.' The collective journey in creating the new country strategy witnessed an important dialogue process that began in 2019, which aimed to achieve the Egyptian government's priorities to fast-track social and economic progress as well as adaptability and resilience. A memorandum of understanding was signed in January 2019 between the AFD and the international cooperation ministry and was activated in 2021 through the signing of development agreements worth a total of €3.8bn. Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat noted that the new country strategy aims to achieve three main things — boosting the integration of the Egyptian financial, commercial, and production systems regionally; supporting the development of social infrastructure; and promoting equitable and sustainable local development. Moreover, the strategy is based on three key pillars — promoting shared prosperity; aligning development and climate goals; and job creation, innovation, and entrepreneurship. In his speech, France's Ambassador to Cairo Marc Baréty highlighted that the new country strategy will deepen the strong bilateral partnership between Egypt and France and that the AFD will provide more than 60% of the funds to improve public services, social inclusion, and infrastructure. For her part, Marie-Hélène Loison — Deputy Director General of the AFD — stated that the strategy reflects a renewed commitment to Egypt's sustainable development, which is a result of the key role that the ministry plays in fostering coordinated governance to identify national priorities and reach the goal of shared prosperity. She added that the AFD will provide further technical and financial support to provide a comprehensive and collaborative approach to achieving the sustainable development goals. The development finance portfolio of the AFD in Egypt currently amounts to around €3.1bn primarily allocated to support the country's sustainable development.
