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Cairo, Egypt, March 14, 2019 – Egypt has affirmed its strong support for the African Development Bank as a development partner and is committed to strengthening regional integration, said the country's Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, at a meeting in Cairo with a delegation from the Bank.
Madbouly said Egypt is ready to work with the African Development Bank. "We are working hard to strengthen our relations with African countries and the African Development Bank is a very important partner," said the Prime Minister.
During the four-day dialogue mission, the Bank delegation led by Khaled F. Sherif, Vice President of Regional Development, Integration and Service Delivery of the African Development Bank Group. , mentioned the need for the country to develop value chains and processing facilities on the continent. to reduce exports of raw products, such as cotton, coffee and cocoa, and to employ more Africans.
The Bank team also met with several other Cabinet members and the President of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Khirat Barakat.
The mission followed a meeting between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi A. Adesina, held in February on the sidelines of the AU summit in Addis Ababa. The objective of the mission was to strengthen the Bank's support to the Egyptian presidency of the African Union by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the African Union Summit held earlier this year.
The Bank delegation, which included Malinne Blomberg, Country Manager for Egypt, Sara Bertin, Chief Country Economist, and Samuel Kamara, Senior Program Officer for the country, also reviewed the Bank's portfolio of projects. in the country, including opportunities for strengthening infrastructure such as energy, sanitation and transport, as well as skills for the workforce of the future.
The meetings highlighted the Bank's support for the implementation of Egypt's agenda under its chairmanship of the African Union. The Bank promotes in particular the Continental Free Trade Agreement and regional integration on the continent. The Bank discussed increased support for Egypt's national priorities for further growth and employment, including the energy and sanitation sectors, as well as higher education.
Discussions also focused on the creation of a guarantee investment fund announced by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the Africa Forum 2018 in Sharm el-Sheikh in December, to promote foreign investment in Sharm el-Sheikh. Egypt in sub-Saharan Africa.
Egypt is the second largest regional shareholder and third largest customer of the Bank in terms of cumulative historical approvals, making it a strong partner. The Bank began financing its operations in Egypt in 1974. Since then, it has financed more than 125 projects valued at US $ 6.5 billion in infrastructure development (transport, electricity, water supply). and sanitation), agriculture, communications, finance, industry and the social sectors. as well as economic and institutional reforms and capacity building. Today, the Bank has a portfolio of 30 operations in Egypt, valued at 2.9 billion US dollars.
In the last three years of significant fiscal consolidation, Egypt has had a diversified economy, with services accounting for about half of its gross domestic product (GDP), industry, 34 percent of GDP, and agriculture 12 percent. .
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