Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that Egypt is one of the most recent countries to join the New Development Bank (NDB). Egypt has extensive experience in the field of international cooperation and development financing through its relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners. These relationships are founded on increasing efforts in various sectors of development and financing projects that are a priority for the country. The announcement was made during her speech at the plenary session of the NDB Board of Governors, which took place during the 8th annual meeting of the bank in Shanghai, China. Attendees included Mohamed Maait, Minister of Finance, heads of state delegations, and governors of member states. The Minister added that Egypt's membership in the NDB, along with the other major emerging economies that are members of the BRICS, enhances South-South cooperation. It supports the government's efforts to transfer expertise and development experiences in the field of international cooperation to the countries of the South, in a way that stimulates global development efforts. This is based on the principles of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), which are country ownership, focus on results, inclusive partnerships, and transparency and mutual accountability. The Minister stated that while the bank is working to support sustainable development and enhance regional cooperation and integration by investing mainly in infrastructure, Egypt already has existing experiences and is strengthening its efforts with development partners under the umbrella of the country's vision to develop sustainable infrastructure through major projects. She referred to the country platform for the nexus of water, food, and energy (NWFE Program) that stimulates climate finance by integrating mitigation and adaptation to climate change across these priority sectors. This comes at a time when the world is facing global threats in food, energy, and food security challenges. Al-Mashat stated that these experiences, and other pioneering projects with multilateral and bilateral development partners, are a great impetus for building an ambitious development cooperation portfolio with the NDB. This meets the country's development requirements in various infrastructure sectors, supports south-south cooperation, and creates constructive partnerships at the bilateral and multilateral levels. It also enhances sources of concessional development financing through joint financing with other development partners for various projects. Moreover, Al-Mashat added that "Over the past period, we have witnessed the annual meetings of the World Bank (WBG), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the African Development Bank (AfDB) review cooperation mechanisms with the Government of Egypt, and the pioneering experiences that were implemented based on state ownership." She stressed that Egypt is determined to stimulate cooperation with all stakeholders, meet national development efforts, enhance South-South cooperation, and stimulate regional integration to meet the global challenges facing developing countries and emerging economies. She also talked about Egypt's efforts to stimulate the participation of the private sector in development through international partnerships and soft development financing, which is already consistent with the NDB's goals. The Minister noted that innovative financing mechanisms from development partners enhance the participation of the private sector in development and stimulate its participation in climate action projects. It is worth noting that Egypt's development cooperation portfolio with multilateral and bilateral development partners includes more than 300 projects worth about $26bn, addressing the 17 SDGs.
