Egypt chairs the third meeting of the Governance Council of The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program

Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group represents Egypt in chairing the third meeting of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Governance Council in Cairo

The Arab Republic of Egypt chaired on Monday the third meeting of the Governance Board of The Arab Africa Trade Bridges (AATB) Program in Cairo, represented by Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development and Governor of Egypt at the Islamic Development Bank Group.

The meeting was attended by Eng. Hani Sonbol, CEO of the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation and Secretary-General of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program.

At the beginning of her speech, Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, said that the meeting comes as an opportunity to consult and exchange ideas, visions, and successful experiences to enhance government efforts to develop trade between African and Arab countries.

 El-Said expressed the Arab Republic of Egypt's pride in the process of continuous and fruitful cooperation with the International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, one of the most active member institutions of the Islamic Development Bank Group.

El-Said affirmed the common desire of the two sides to continue and intensify this cooperation in the next stage, especially in light of the pioneering programs implemented by the Foundation, on top of which is the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program.

El-Said referred to the launch of the third meeting of the Program Governance Board in Cairo, which is chaired by the Arab Republic of Egypt until the next meeting of the Governance Board at the end of this year.

El-Said affirmed the keenness of the Arab Republic of Egypt throughout its history to conclude a large number of bilateral trade agreements with many African countries, in addition to the multilateral agreements that it joined within the framework of regional economic blocs.

 El-Said added that Egypt gives great priority to cooperation between the countries of the South through the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development, as well as through fruitful tripartite cooperation with international development partners, led by the Islamic Development Bank.

El-Said added that within the framework of Egypt's desire to enhance regional cooperation and integration efforts, the hosting of the Summit of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP 27) for the year 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh comes.

 El-Said explained that Egypt aims to provide the summit with a platform for developing countries to express their requirements, most notably providing direct financing, transferring low-carbon technology, and building the capacities of national cadres, in the government and the private sector.

El-Said also referred to Egypt's launch of the "Southern Industrial Cooperation Center" to stimulate technology transfer and promote innovation-based industrial development among African countries, reflecting Egypt's role as a major sponsor of South-South cooperation in the field of information and communication technology.

El-Said touched on Egypt's hosting of the meeting of experts of the African Peer Review Mechanism to enhance South-South cooperation in Africa in January 2020, which aims to enhance the implementation of both the 2030 and 2063 agendas.

El-Said also referred to Egypt's hosting of the second Arab-African Trade Forum, which was organized by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADIA) and the Arab Trade Bridges Program last November.

The forum highlighted the promising role of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program in facing the challenges resulting from the outbreak of the Corona pandemic.

El-Said stressed that strengthening cooperation between Egypt and African countries is one of the priorities that the Ministry of Planning and Sustainable Development seeks to achieve through many of the files the ministry is concerned with, whether about developing trade between Egypt and African countries and increasing the volume and rates of trade exchange with these countries.

El-Said explained that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development has intensified its efforts, in cooperation with the World Food Program, to create a knowledge platform that facilitates the exchange of experiences, lessons learned, and best practices in the field of job creation, building resilience and expanding the social protection umbrella.

El-Said indicated that the ministry has adopted a set of initiatives through the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, the training arm of the ministry, in the context of strengthening the state's direction to develop cooperative relations with African countries in the field of training and capacity building.

Dr. Hala El-Said also talked about the training program held by the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development (NIGSD) in cooperation with the Egyptian Exporters Association last November within the framework of the Arab-African Trade Bridges Program, under the title "Strengthening the Understanding of International Trade for Entrepreneurs".

After her speech, El-Said affirmed Egypt's welcome to its brothers from the Arab and African countries, as well as to the serious dialogue to exchange experiences and successful experiences and to develop treatments that contribute to the promotion of intra-trade and support the efforts of countries to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development.

El-Said added that the meeting provides a platform to discuss and express opinions on the future strategic directions of the program, and mechanisms for strengthening regional value chains to increase trade and investment flows between Arab and African countries.