The European Union (EU) is providing Egypt with a EUR 117.9 million grant to support the budget of the water and energy sectors, the Ministry of International Cooperation announced in a statement.
The Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat, noted that the development financing grant falls in line with Egypt’s vision to strengthen international partnerships and spur sustainable economic growth through development financing.
The Minister added that international partnerships have achieved mutual benefits for Egypt and the international community, as it has led to the successful implementation of many projects in the water sector, with examples that include the Bahr Al-Baqar wastewater treatment plant, the Mahsama wastewater treatment plant, and Gabal Al-Asfar wastewater treatment plant.
However, with an increasing population of over 102 million, there are high risks of drought and water security. According to a 2021 UNICEF report, Egypt’s annual water deficit reached approximately seven billion cubic meters over the past few years, and by 2025, the country may potentially “run out of water” entirely.
On the occasion of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s visit to Cairo in June, the EU and Egypt released a joint statement on stepping up cooperation on climate, energy and the green transition.
In the run-up to COP27, the EU and Egypt will join forces to implement the Paris Agreement and expand collective action on a global just energy transition, adaptation capacity, mitigating loss and damage, and increasing climate finance to respond to the needs of developing countries.
Egypt, the European Union (EU), and Israel signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to export natural gas from Israel via Egypt to Europe, which falls in line with EU’s efforts to reduce reliance on Russian energy imports following the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Egypt has the potential to be a leader in renewable energy production and export. And therefore, we all know that your country will play a crucial role in COP27 to keep the global community on track towards our climate goals, but also to boost the modern technologies for clean energy that is so necessary,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.
Egypt enjoys a strong partnership with the European Union, with the current cooperation portfolio between both amounting to around EUR 1.35 billion in the to support several sectors, including transport, water, agriculture, small and medium enterprises, sustainable energy, environment, social protection, governance, capacity building and civil society.
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