On the sidelines of chairing Egypt's delegation in the Annual Meetings of the Arab Financial Institutions in Morocco's capital Rabat, the Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Dr. Sahar Nasr signed an agreement worth KWD 26 million (approximately USD 85 million) with Mr. Abdullatif Youssef Al-Hamad, Director-General of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD).
The Minister stated that the purpose of the agreement was to contribute to financing the establishment of a 50 MW photovoltaic power plant in Kom Ombo in Aswan, in favor of the New & Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) affiliated to the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.
The project, according to the Minister, aimed to support electricity supply in the Egyptian market to meet the increasing demand for electricity and to focus on new and renewable energy projects instead of projects that depend on traditional energy sources such as natural gas, coals and black oil, with a view to realize the highest level of environmental safety and sustainability in line with the global environmental standards for clean energy generation.
The Minister thanked AFESD for its continuous cooperation with Egypt, given that it contributed with about USD 5.25 billion to a total of 59 projects, including 20 ones being financed until present.
Moreover, the Minister emphasized that the Egyptian government sought to maintain cooperation with AFESD, being one of Egypt's key development partners, through presenting a package of development projects to AFESD to secure funds for them during the upcoming period. The Minister noted that such projects were greatly significant for Egypt's development and were expected to contribute to increasing economic growth rates in the future, in addition to their robust social returns which would improve standards of living.
Afterwards, the Minister met with Director-General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) Mr. Abdulwahab Ahmed Al-Bader. At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister thanked Mr. Al-Bader for constant cooperation between Egypt and KFAED and for updating such cooperation from time to time in line with Egyptians' needs and the government's priorities.
Both sides discussed KFAED's contribution to the mutual fund for startups and small investors. They also discussed increasing cooperation between Egypt and KFAED through the financing agreements signed between them totaling approximately USD 3 billion allocated to (42) development projects in various fields as well as 12 technical grants worth USD 52 million, while tackling future projects in light of Egypt's various investment opportunities in all sectors.
Further, both sides agreed that projects financed by Arab funds and KFAED, in particular, had to have developmental and social impact on citizens through improving services provided to them, providing further job opportunities and promoting local and foreign investments.