In presence of Ministers of International Cooperation and Finance
A High-Level Round Table bringing together the Vicepresident of CitiGroup, and all Donors and Development Banks, discussing Blending Donor and DFI Finance and Maximizing Private Sector Engagement with an Eye on Investing in Africa
Minister of International Cooperation Dr Rania Al Mashat organized a high-level roundtable attended by Minister of Finance Dr Mohamed Maeit, Citigroup Vice Chairman Jay Collins, US Ambassador to Egypt Jonathan Cohen, and heads of development partners EC, USAID, JICA, Italian Technical Cooperation, KOIKA, WB, IFC, EIB, AfDB, EBRD, AFD, KfW, UN, UNDP, ILO, FAO, and WHO.
The roundtable discussed blending grants and developmental loans with commercial loans to leverage more funding for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, with an eye on maximizing Egyptian trilateral investment in Africa and maximizing private sector engagement, a priority in Dr Al Mashat’s economic diplomacy initiative.
Dr Alaa Ezz, CEEBA Secretary-General and Chairman of MedAlliance EU EBSOMED steering committee, represented the private sector and BSOs in the meeting, highlighted the importance of access to finance and the excellent cooperation with all present donors and DFIs in that regards especially in the EBSOMED MEDAFinance initiative. He added that technical assistance in regulatory reform, PPP, and trilateral cooperation are the pillar of achieving SDGs as seen in Benban, the largest solar farm in the world established by simple regulatory reform enabling private sector engagement and attracted all DFIs in a matter of 3 years.
Dr Ezz requested all donors to follow the EU initiatives, namely the External Investment Plan and the Green Deal where grants are used to avail soft loans leveraging 10 times the funding from DFIs. He further mentioned the ongoing blending of EU regional and ENI CBC projects maximizing their impact, an initiative that was kicked off by Minister Al Mashat and EU Ambassador Christian Berger.