Egypt, US ink seven development grant deals worth $125mln

This took place with the participation of the US Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen; and the Mission Director of the USAID Egypt, Leslie Reed, according to a statement on Monday.

This comes within the framework of the strategic and historic relations between Egypt and the US and in light of the Ministry of International Cooperation’s efforts to develop joint economic relations between Egypt and its bilateral and multilateral development partners, in a way that supports the national efforts to achieve Egypt’s Vision 2030, which also aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

During her speech, El-Mashat highlighted the depth and significance of the bilateral relations between Egypt and the US across various sectors, referring to the seven agreements’ role in stimulating the government’s efforts in developing the sectors of basic education, higher education, science and technology, agriculture, health, economic governance, trade, and investment, in addition to $5 million allocated for combating the repercussions of the coronavirus.

The signed agreements allocate $17 million to the sector of basic education; $31 million to the US-Egypt Higher Education Initiative (HEI); $4 million to the US-Egyptian cooperation in the sector of science and technology; $27 million to economic governance; $5 million to agriculture and rural development; and $28 million to bolstering trade and investment in Egypt.

El-Mashat further elaborated that the strategic partnership with the US integrates with the national efforts of developing various sectors to achieve social and economic development referring to the “Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator” that was launched by the Ministry of International Cooperation, the National Council for Women (NCW), and the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is the first unique public-private collaboration model in Africa and the Middle East that works towards taking decisive action on closing economic gender gaps.

The ministry is currently designing a new program with USAID to ensure women economic and social empowerment, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, within the framework of “Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator”, and in order to improve the work environment for women in the private sector economy, as well as to expand women’s financial inclusion.

She further noted that the partnership with the USAID pushes forward the private sector’s engagement in the development and stimulates its role across various sectors, through supporting SMEs, and encouraging entrepreneurship, under the umbrella of the “Trade and Investment Promotion in Egypt” Agreement.

The minister affirmed that Egypt is in the position to lead the region’s green transformation and climate action, through transitioning towards renewable energy; diversifying energy resources; implementing climate-friendly projects; and expanding creative financing tools to stimulate climate action. This is in addition to highlighting the continuous coordination between the Ministry of International Cooperation and the Ministry of Environment and other stakeholders to strengthen the process of combating climate change through consolidating international partnerships, noting that there is room for expanding future partnership between all development partners, including the USAID.

For his part, the US Ambassador to Egypt, Jonathan Cohen, said, “I am pleased to announce today $125 million in economic assistance from the US to Egypt. This is part of the US government’s $30 billion investment in Egypt over the last 40 years, which has brought clean water and wastewater services to 25 million Egyptians, eliminated polio, built 2,000 schools, and provided 4,000 university scholarships.”

USAID's Mission Director, Leslie Reed, stated that the seven agreements being celebrated reinforce the strategic partnership between the US and Egypt, and the tremendous impact that the joint efforts have on Egypt’s people.

Since 2014, the cooperation portfolio with the USAID has reached about $900 million in implementing priority projects in education, higher education, governance, SMEs, tourism, agriculture, and the private sector.

The total development cooperation portfolio between Egypt and the US since 1978 amounts to over $30 billion covering various sectors that represent development priorities for the Egyptian government.