Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat praised the constructive relationship between Egyptian institutions at both the governmental and private sector levels and the African Export-Import Bank “Afreximbank,” and its role in supporting the business community, facilitating trade exchanges among African countries, as well as providing financing for various sectors.
This came during Mashat’s meeting on Monday with President of Afreximbank Benedict Oramah, at the headquarters of the Ministry of International Cooperation in the New Administrative Capital, where extensive discussions were held in the presence of the bank’s Vice President Kanayo Awani, Head of Trade and Corporate Finance Sector Ayman El Zaghloul, Director of Consultations and Capital Markets Hatem El Demerdash, and several bank officials, as well as the Ministry of International Cooperation team.
The meeting witnessed constructive discussions on enhancing cooperation with Afreximbank to boost South-South cooperation, benefiting from
Egypt’s developmental experiences and expertise in international cooperation with other African countries. It also discussed joint work in food security and enhancing agricultural investment on the continent, in addition to various development areas.
Discussions also covered cooperation with the bank through the “Hafez” platform for financial and technical support for the private sector, to achieve integration between the bank’s efforts to empower the private sector and the platform’s provision of services and information to connect with development partners and the business community.
Furthermore, discussions covered linking the “Hafez” platform with the bank’s Electronic Platform for Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Contracts (EPC), launched during the third edition of the Intra-African Trade Fair 2023 in Cairo, under the patronage and attendance of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
Mashat emphasized the vital role played by development partners in financing the private sector and providing consu
ltancy services and technical support, noting that facilitated financing and contributions amounted to dlrs 10.3 billion over the past four years.
During the meeting, Mashat reviewed the framework of international cooperation and development finance, and the role of the ministry within the state’s vision to expand cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners, the private sector, and civil society to maximize the benefits of development financing and ensure the coherence of development projects with national priorities in implementation of presidential directives. She also stressed the importance of improving the management of development cooperation to implement projects effectively.
Minister Al-Mashat pointed out that the ministry is working to enhance Egypt’s economic diplomacy by achieving alignment between strategies with development partners and the state’s strategic priorities. She also highlighted the importance of promoting economic diplomacy through constructive partnerships wit
h international institutions, enhancing technical support and knowledge exchange, effective monitoring of implemented projects with development partners, coordination between development partners and regional and international organizations, UN agencies, and beneficiary entities represented in ministries, government bodies, universities, research centers, the private sector, and civil society.
Meanwhile, Afreximbank president expressed gratitude to the minister for the warm reception, confirming the pivotal relationship between the bank and Egypt and the great support received from the government, especially in hosting the Intra-African Trade Fair last year. He stressed the importance of the meeting in exploring areas of common interest for cooperation with the Ministry of International Cooperation.
He explained that the bank has a long-standing relationship with Egyptian institutions at both the governmental and private sector levels, having provided dlrs 30 billion in financing over the past five years, i
ncluding dlrs 16 billion to the financial sector, which has enhanced the capacity of Egyptian companies to expand their operations in Africa.
Source: State Information Service Egypt