French finance minister to finalise SDGs projects plans, finance details in his February visit

The French Minister of Finance will visit Egypt to finalise details of the bilateral projects that will be established under Egypt’s sustainable development 2030 agenda and their financing conditions, according to Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat.

His visit is scheduled during February and he is expected to hold a lineup of meetings with various Egyptian ministries and governmental institutions.

Al-Mashat made her comments during a meeting, held with the Ambassador of France, Stéphane Romatet, along with his Economic Advisor, Michel Aldenberg.

The meeting discussed the multi-sectoral development agreements made during Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Al-Mashat’s visit to France in December.

The two sides have also begun negotiating the development financing projects’ allocation and their execution via French companies.

During the meeting, Al-Mashat noted that the bilateral partnership achieves, in essence, the UN’s sustainable development goals, serving consequently Egypt’s national agenda 2030 through development financing that has been capitalised by the latest visit’s agreements.

In December, Egypt and France inked three financing agreements worth €715.6 million.

Romatet emphasised the importance of the Egyptian-French partnership, expressing the success of the presidential visit to France, which took place in December, in deliberating the sustainable development agenda for both countries.

During the presidential visit to France, Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation signed with the Chief Executive of the Agence Française de Développement a financing agreement worth €715.6 million, with the aim of supporting the health, transportation, education, and water sectors.

The history of cooperation between both countries dates back to 1974, with an economic cooperation portfolio worth €7.5 billion along with more than 42 signed protocols covering transportation, electricity, civil aviation, housing and utilities, health, agriculture and irrigation, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, environment, antiquities, and Education, according to the ministry.

The current cooperation portfolio between Egypt and France rounds up to €1 billion.