Egypt’s ambassador to London, Tarek Adel held a video conference with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Odile Renaud-Basso amid her upcoming visit to Cairo.
Renaud-Basso is expected to visit to Cairo this month, marking her first trip to one of the bank’s operation countries in the region since she took office in November.
Adel’s meeting with EBRD president dealt with aspects of extended cooperation between Egypt and the bank, and ways to enhance the bank’s projects in the priority areas during the coming period in line with the Egyptian government’s strategy to achieve sustainable development, as it is one of the largest countries of operations for the bank.
This meeting is one that comes from an eagerness to cooperate with bank officials, with the aim of exploring the prospects for developing the bank’s investment portfolio in Egypt, Adel said.
This is especially in light of the great convergence between Egyptian cooperation priorities and the bank’s directions regarding green economy, digital transformation, and support for infrastructure projects, sustainable infrastructure, as well as enhancing competitiveness and the role of the private sector, he added.
Adel explained that Egypt was the only economy within the bank’s areas of operation which was able to avoid entering a phase of recession or deflation at high rates during 2020 despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to an economic prospects report issued by the bank.
Adel also affirmed Egypt’s support for the bank’s future plans to expand in Africa, and the important role that the bank could play in the future in supporting the development priorities of the brothers in African countries.
Renaud-Basso touched on her desire to visit Cairo, appreciating the growing cooperation between Egypt and the EBRD, and her eagerness to push the bank’s projects in Egypt to broader and wider horizons during her presidency.
She emphasized the interest that the bank’s management holds to its existing projects in Egypt, in light of the stability and high degree of flexibility the Egyptian economy enjoys in facing crises alongside the attractive investment opportunities it provides in various sectors.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
