Egypt has very close partnerships with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on developing green cities initiatives and endorsing plans towards green recoveries, according to Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation.
She added that the Egyptian Government is making positive strides towards a green recovery, as its mission has not only been to think green, but also to act green in all of its development projects to help preserve the environment.
Minister Al-Mashat added that pushing for gender equality is also one of the top priorities that come within the EBRD’s strategic framework in the upcoming period.
The minister’s remarks came as she virtually participated in the opening and plenary sessions of the EBRD’s 2021 Annual Meetings that coincide with the bank’s 30th anniversary.
The meetings aim to discuss economic recovery and ways to ‘build back better’ following the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which had significant social, economic, physical, and health impacts on the global level.
Along with Minister Al-Mashat, the panel was attended by: Tigran Avinyan, Armenia’s Acting Vice Prime Minister and the Governor of Armenia at the EBRD; Sardor Umurzakov, Uzbekistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade and Governor of Uzbekistan at the EBRD; and Rishi Sunak, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer and Governor of the UK at the EBRD.
During the meeting, discussions took place on building back better economies in the EBRD’s countries of operations, and providing support to various development sectors, including the private sector.
They also tackled the EBRD’s Climate Ambition Agenda in order to integrate climate change in the countries’ development plans.
Minister Al-Mashat said that Egypt is one of the bank’s founding members, with a portfolio of more than €4.6bn across 127 operations, with 80% directed to the private sector.
The minister further stated that one of the silver linings of the COVID-19 pandemic is that it has shown the world the opportunity to build back better and stronger. It has also stressed the importance of inclusive cooperation in order to build a better future.
“Multilateralism is essential in order to craft an international cooperation framework,” Minister Al-Mashat added, “In light of building back better, we feel that there is opportunity to rethink multilateralism, which is something we have started to endorse under the framework of Economic Diplomacy, which means that all stakeholders come together to fulfil not just one institution’s agenda, but the collective agenda at the global level.”
Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the EBRD, said that by 2025, the bank aims to make 50% of its investments in the green economy, which is “our ambitious, essential plan for building a better future”.
