Egypt obtains $90.49M from Switzerland from 2017-2020

CAIRO – 22 June 2020: Egypt obtained 86 million Swiss francs ($90.49 million) from Switzerland during the period from 2017 to 2020, according to Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat.

The minister expressed on Monday her appreciation for the existing development partnership between Egypt and Switzerland, which amounted to 700 million Swiss francs (equivalent to $736.6 million) since the beginning of the cooperation between the two countries, which contributed to the implementation of 200 projects.

This came during her meeting with Paul Garnier, the Swiss ambassador to Cairo, where they discussed ways to enhance the achievements of the cooperation strategy 2017-2020 between Egypt and Switzerland, and reviewed the new cooperation strategy between the two sides for the next four years (2021-2024), which aims to deepen the bilateral partnership.

Mashat emphasized that the ongoing cooperation portfolio amounts to approximately €48 million in the areas of communications, urban planning, drinking water, sanitation, textile, health and environment.

She indicated that the new cooperation strategy focuses on listing international partnerships in order to shed light on the development partnership, its impact on citizens and its role in achieving the sustainable development goals.

The minister pointed out that cooperation is focused on several areas that the Egyptian government priortize, such as small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurship, digital transformation, education, technical training, health, agriculture, and renewable energy.

The minister of international cooperation stressed during the meeting that took place via video conference, the importance of the compatibility of the new cooperation strategy between Egypt and Switzerland (2021-2024) with the new strategy between the Ministry of International Cooperation and international financial institutions.

The minister highlighted the importance of extending cooperation between Egypt and Switzerland to include women's empowerment, given that Egypt is the first country in the Arab region to launch with the World Economic Forum, a project to bridge the gender gap in Egypt. The project was carried out in cooperation with the National Council for Women, with the aim of increasing women's participation in the market. It aims to bridge the gender wage gaps, and ensure that women have the skills necessary for the future of work, especially in light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

For his part, the Swiss ambassador to Cairo praised the new strategy of the Ministry of International Cooperation in partnership with international financial institutions, stressing Switzerland's support to Egypt in completing the process of economic reform towards achieving the United Nations goals for sustainable development.

He said that his country will focus on the compatibility of the new cooperation strategy between the two countries (2021-2024), with the strategy of the Ministry of International Cooperation, especially in the areas of small and medium enterprises and education.

Corin Henshos, director of the Swiss International Cooperation Office, stressed the Swiss side's keenness to cooperate with Egypt in the field of agriculture because the sector is of great importance in providing food security to Egypt.