CAIRO, March 18, 2018 - The government is seeking to achieve development in various fields for a better future for the young generations, Minister of Local Development Abu Bakr el-Guindi said on Sunday. Addressing the 1st international conference on promoting local development and decentralisation, that was held in Cairo on Sunday, Minister el-Guindi said that the conference is aimed at benefiting from the expertise of other countries in the field of local development and decentralisation. The Head of the European Union delegation in Cairo, Ambassador Ivan Surkos, praised joint co-operation between the EU and Egypt, and commended the economic reform programme implemented by the Egyptian government and the steps taken to develop and upgrade the services in all fields. The EU's aid to Egypt has reached more than 1.3 billion euros in the form of ongoing grant projects, he said, adding that the figure hits 11 billion euros when grants, loans and debt swap by the member states and European financial corporations are added. This makes the EU Egypt's largest donor to Egypt, he said.
