Sharm El Sheikh, March 14, 2015: The United Arab Emirates, Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of France have signed a trilateral economic Memorandum of Understanding at the Egypt Economic Development Conference (EEDC) in Sharm El Sheikh.

The MOU is focused on stimulating private sector investment in a number of priority sectors that have been identified by Egypt; including energy, infrastructure, transportation, information technology and communications, with a particular focus on encouraging environmental best practices.

The MOU was signed by H.E Dr. Najla Al Ahwany, Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation, H.E Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Mrs Anne-Marie Idrac, Special Representative

of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development for Trade with the United Arab Emirates.

H.E Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber said: "We are delighted to sign this trilateral memorandum between the UAE, Egypt, France. This move reflects our collective understanding of the strategic importance of Egypt's stability."

On her part, Dr. Najla Al Ahwani said: "The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding is yet another indication of the UAE's commitment to supporting Egypt's economy and ensuring its long term sustainability."

She pointed out that Egypt will seek to benefit from the fruits of this cooperation especially in areas that contribute to the support of the Egyptian economy and achieve sustainable development, adding,"I want to thank both the UAE and France for this partnership that will heed great results for all parties involved."

According to the memorandum, which includes an assessment of joint UAE/France collaboration in Egypt, all parties will aim to include private sector involvement in the designated sectors. The UAE and Egypt are keen to explore ways to collaborate on improving the transportation infrastructure, particularly, for governorates and urban areas.

France has supported the Cairo Metro project for more than thirty years and as such has also expressed interest in the soon to be tendered third metro project.

The MOU also includes a study on a UAE/France renewable energy program in Egypt that aims to produce 20% of Egypt's electricity needs from renewables by 2020.

Masdar, Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company will play an important role in the trilateral cooperation by utilizing its expertise in solar and wind energy; while the UAE and France will collaborate on ways to support Egypt's promising goal of energy efficiency and the adoption of clean technology and reducing its carbon emissions for a sustainable environment.

© Press Release 2015