The President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) starts a visit to Cairo, Egypt on Wednesday April 21st, 2021. Odile Renaud-Basso's visit aims at strengthening cooperation between Egypt and the EBRD. The Bank is one of Egypt's main financial partners in its sustainable development policy.
Between 2012 and 2021, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed €7.2 billion to finance 127 sustainable development projects in Egypt. As a result, the EBRD is one of Egypt’s privileged partners. The bank’s support will be even more necessary in this post-Covid-19 recovery period. It is to strengthen this partnership that EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso is travelling to Cairo on Wednesday April 21st, 2021.
During this trip to the country of the Pharaohs, Odile Renaud-Basso will meet in turn with the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; the Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly; the Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat; Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Mohamed Shaker; Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities and Chairman of the New Urban Communities Authority (Nuca), Assem El Gazzar; and Minister of Local Development, Mahmoud Youssry Shaarawy.
Support for local development
The EBRD delegation also plans to meet with the governor of Cairo, Khaled Abdel-Aal Abdel-Hafez and the governor of Alexandria, Taher El Sherif. Exchanges will also be organised with officials of the Egyptian private sector which has been strengthened in recent years, notably in the field of construction, water treatment and renewable energy production.
Read also EGYPT: towards the reinforcement of the EBRD’s support to the green and sustainable economy
Through the visit of its senior officials to Cairo, the EBRD wants to show the strengthening of its links with Egypt, through support for the green economy and sustainable development. In this North African country, the London-based bank mainly finances renewable energies, notably the deployment of solar power plants and wind farms in Egypt. Its financing is provided mainly to independent power producers (IPPs) such as Lekela Power.
Financing sustainable infrastructure
Lekela Power, a joint venture between UK investment fund Actis and Irish company Mainstream Renewable Power, is building a 250 MW wind farm in Ras Ghareb. Also, in Ras Ghareb on the Gulf of Suez, the EBRD is contributing to the financing of a 500 MW wind farm built by the French IPP Engie and the Japanese Eurus Energy/Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
Egypt is also focusing its sustainable development policy on water and sanitation management. The EBRD supports this sector through the financing of the Fayoum sewerage extension programme and the treatment of wastewater from the Kitchener drain for the Nile delta. These are just some of the issues that will be discussed between the EBRD President and the Egyptian authorities during this visit which ends on April 22nd, 2021.
Jean Marie Takouleu
