Minister of Planning, Economic Development & International Cooperation Discusses Development of Bilateral and Regional Economic Relations with New EU Ambassador
05 November 2024
With the official commencement of her duties
in Egypt,
Minister of Planning, Economic Development
& International Cooperation Discusses Development of Bilateral and Regional
Economic Relations with New EU Ambassador
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat congratulates the new EU Ambassador on her appointment and thanks Ambassador Christian Berger for his efforts during his tenure.
Dr. Al-Mashat: The European Union is a strategic partner for Egypt in economic relations.
The "Joint Declaration" lays the foundation for a new phase to increase European investments and advance the economic partnership between the two countries.
We aim to expand the scope of shared relations to include additional areas of common development interest.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of
Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, held a virtual
meeting with Ms. Angelina Eichhorst, the newly appointed EU Ambassador to
Cairo, following her official assumption of duties after the completion of
Ambassador Christian Berger's tenure.
H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat congratulated Ms. Eichhorst
on her appointment as Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt, wishing her success
in fostering the strategic partnership between the Arab Republic of Egypt and
the European Union, which plays a vital role in advancing economic development
efforts. She also highlighted the pivotal role played by Ambassador Christian
Berger during his time in Egypt, especially his efforts to enhance economic
partnerships across various sectors of mutual interest.
The Minister emphasized that the partnership
with the European Union is of great importance to Egypt, particularly in the
areas of trade, investment, and economic cooperation. She noted that in the
coming period, there will be increased collaboration with the EU Delegation in
Cairo to implement the agreements outlined in the "Joint Declaration"
signed between H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and European Commission
President Ursula von der Leyen last March. The declaration sets a solid
foundation for the strategic partnership, with key priorities to strengthen
economic cooperation, increase European investments in Egypt, expand
development cooperation efforts, and broaden partnerships across various
sectors.
The meeting also reviewed the progress of the
first phase of the Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA) mechanism, under which the
EU is set to provide concessional financing amounting to one billion euros as
part of the package signed last March. Over the past few months, the Ministry
of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation has been
coordinating with relevant authorities in Egypt and EU technical teams to
implement a set of structural reforms under this mechanism to enhance the
competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and improve the business environment.
The two sides discussed developments in the
Egyptian-European partnership across various sectors, both bilaterally and
regionally. This included the implementation of the investment guarantee
mechanism announced last March, efforts to align Egyptian exports with the
European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and the ongoing
national efforts to implement economic and structural reforms and ensure better
governance of public investment spending.