Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat met with Kanayo Awani — Executive Vice President of the African Export-Import Bank — on Monday to discuss cooperation ahead of the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) that will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November. During the meeting, Al-Mashat discussed strengthening cooperation within the framework of preparations for 'Financing Day', which will be held within the activities of the COP27, as well as pushing cooperation efforts between Egypt and countries of the south in order to exchange development experiences and knowledge through the existing cooperation between the Ministry of International Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme. She also touched on the Bank's participation in the Egypt-ICF Forum, which is scheduled to be held this September to coordinate the African position before the COP27 and also discussed strengthening cooperation in supporting entrepreneurship. Furthermore, Al-Mashat spoke about the launch of the NWFE Programme to finance a number of green government projects in the fields of energy, food, and water under the umbrella of the National Strategy for Climate Change, explaining that the list of projects focuses on adaptation and mitigation efforts in order to lead African efforts in the field of climate action. Moreover, the minister indicated the government's keenness on the effective participation of development partners, international financial institutions, multilateral development banks, as well as the private sector in financing these projects, as they are of paramount importance to overcoming the repercussions of climate change and preserving the environment, and in order to turn global pledges to finance climate action into tangible measures and actions that stimulate climate finance in developing countries and emerging economies. She added that Egypt enjoys strong relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners, which is reflected in their effective contribution to the financing of major development projects in the country, noting that throughout 2020 and 2021, about $20bn in financing were provided from development partners, including $5bn for the private sector and small and medium enterprises, which confirms the pivotal role of international partnerships in expanding the base of the private sector's participation in achieving development. Al-Mashat also called on the officials of the African Export-Import Bank to familiarise themselves with the map of development finances in Egypt through the website of the Ministry of International Cooperation, which includes a detailed portfolio of $26bn to finance 372 projects, classified according to the sustainable development goals, to show the impact of the funds on Egypt's 2030 Vision, noting that the thirteenth goal related to climate action includes funding of about $11bn in the areas of adaptation and mitigation of the consequences of climate change. For her part, Awani stressed the strong relations that link the bank with the Egyptian government, which is represented in a huge financing portfolio and continuous interaction between the bank and the concerned government agencies, and the signing of many facilities in the telecommunications, gas, and health sectors, as well as combating the coronavirus pandemic, stressing the bank's keenness to strengthen cooperation with the government in the context of preparations for the COP27.
