Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held a meeting with Andrew Deleone — President of Alstom in Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia — to explore opportunities for cooperation and mainstream climate change considerations in transport infrastructure.
During the meeting, Deleone presented Alstom’s vision and plans for the electrification of Egypt’s railways and supplying them with hydrogen as a source of alternative fuel.
The localisation of industry was also explored by unlocking future cooperation opportunities with the Arab Organisation for Industrialisation and the SEMAF factory to manufacture mobile units for the sixth metro line in Egypt.
The two sides also discussed bolstering technical cooperation and raising the capacity of local technicians, engineers, and drivers, which is in line with the Ministry of Transportation’s plan to upgrade the technical expertise of workers in Egypt.
For her part, Al-Mashat pointed out the importance of the transportation sector, which is a national priority and is among the sectors receiving the most funding from multilateral and bilateral development partners, and the development of the transportation sector is also reflected in the increased participation of the private sector in development efforts.
She also noted that the transportation sector benefits greatly from official development aid and represents 25% of the total funds provided to the government of Egypt.
Furthermore, she said that Egypt is integrating and mainstreaming its National Climate Change Strategy with the 2030 National Agenda in order to reduce carbon emissions and create green job opportunities for the population.
Deleone then noted that there is a promising market opportunity in Africa and the Middle East, and that the government of Egypt has a clear strategic vision that stipulates the relevant policies that are required to meet national priorities, which facilitates the work of development partners to provide financing for targeted sectors.
By the end of July 2022, the financial proposal for the Sixth Metro Line Project will be submitted and it will be presented at the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) that will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this year.
