Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met on Sunday evening with Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), at the government headquarters in Egypt's New Administrative Capital. The meeting focused on the bank's future plans to support various sectors of Egypt's economy. Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat also attended the meeting. Madbouly praised the strength of Egypt's strategic partnership with the EBRD, noting that this close cooperation has resulted in a growing portfolio of projects—most of which support the private sector. He emphasized that since Egypt officially became a country of operation for the EBRD in 2021, the bank has helped channel investments worth around €14bn across 194 projects in both the public and private sectors. The Prime Minister also highlighted that Egypt has ranked as the EBRD's top country of operation in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region for the seventh consecutive year as of 2024. One of the most prominent areas of collaboration, he noted, is in renewable energy, particularly through the "NWFE" programme—the national platform for green projects. Madbouly reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to further deepening this partnership with the same level of dedication, stressing the EBRD's vital role in advancing the broader strategic relationship between Egypt and the European Union. For her part, Minister Al-Mashat reviewed key areas of cooperation between the Egyptian government and the EBRD, including renewable energy, water desalination, and green hydrogen. She pointed out that more than 90% of the bank's operations in Egypt are directed toward supporting the private sector. In 2023 alone, EBRD investments in Egypt's private sector totalled approximately €1.5bn, targeting priority sectors such as food and agriculture, manufacturing, and clean energy. EBRD President Renaud-Basso reaffirmed the bank's commitment to supporting Egypt's economic development, with a continued focus on empowering the private sector. She expressed the EBRD's readiness to increase its involvement in the near future. Renaud-Basso also outlined the bank's current engagements across several strategic sectors, including renewable energy, healthcare, digital transformation, the government's IPO programme, and water desalination. She commended Egypt's recent reforms in taxation, customs, and legislative frameworks aimed at creating a more enabling environment for private sector growth. In addition, she noted that the EBRD is actively implementing programs to support youth, promote gender equality, and enhance the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The meeting also included a discussion of global economic developments and their implications for countries worldwide.
