CNBC interviews minister of International Cooperation Al Mashat

CAIRO - 13 July 2020: Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al Mashat had an Interview with CNBC Europe titled “COVID-19 has Driven  Decision Makers to Devise Non-traditional Solutions to Face the Crisis,”.

The Minister of International Cooperation stated that COVID-19 pandemic drove decision-makers and the private sector worldwide to devise innovative solutions to address the crisis and ensure business continuity, referring to the measures taken by the Egyptian government to harness circumstances of the crisis to enhance economic reform. 

During her interview with CNBC Europe, the Minister pointed out that the Egyptian state embarked on adopting financial and monetary policy tools to enhance financial inclusion policies, accelerate digital transformation procedures, and address the pandemic's social and economic impacts, in addition to identifying 1.5 million  unofficial workers affected by the pandemic to provide them with necessary support and to engage them in the financial inclusion system. 

MOIC, explained Al Mashat, launched a global partnership narrative for effective Cooperation among multilateral and bilateral development partners last April with a view to enhancing dialogue and cooperation frameworks between the ministries and their development partners to achieve development goals and support future plans in each sector through regular interactive participation among all development partners, particularly with COVID-19 in the background.

In response to an inquiry about the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Al Mashat reiterated her complete confidence in the Egyptian political and diplomatic leadership as a safety valve for Egypt's future.

She added that agriculture and irrigation development projects were on top of MOIC's agenda with development partners, with the objective of applying modern technologies among agriculture and irrigation tools, thereby achieve sustainability and foster a green economy. She further noted that agriculture proved to be of great significance for achieving food security during COVID-19 pandemic.

The tourism sector was also touched on by  Al Mashat, who explained that tourism was one of the most prominent sectors on the level of local economy and that the government started to take progressive action to allow the return of tourists to some cities, taking into consideration precautionary and preventive measures.