The announcement was made at a joint press conference at the ministry's headquarters in Egypt's New Administrative Capital, implementing a joint declaration signed during a summit between President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during Macron's visit to Egypt from April 6-8, 2025.
The renewed pact, which elevates bilateral ties to a strategic
partnership, aims to advance shared interests and achieve economic development
goals, according to the ministers.
The funding will focus on three main areas: Human
development, especially higher education, sustainable infrastructure, and addressing
climate change through financing green projects, particularly under Egypt's
national "NWFE" program (Nexus of Water-Food-Energy).
This is designed to align with Egypt's "National
Economic Development Narrative" to shift toward higher-productivity
sectors with greater export market access.
Al-Mashat said the Egyptian and French sides held continuous
talks since the joint declaration was signed to identify project priorities
that align with Egypt's economic and structural reform agenda. She stressed
that the comprehensive and diversified strategic relations between the two
countries enjoy strong support from both presidents, extending beyond development
cooperation to include investment, trade, and cultural ties.
The Minister highlighted that concessional funding is a
common denominator in development strategies, noting it is one of the least
costly types of financing with the longest grace and repayment periods. Egypt
seeks to leverage such funding, utilizing its strong relations with
international partners in line with public investment governance and an
investment spending ceiling of 1.16 trillion Egyptian pounds (circa $37.5
billion) in the past fiscal year.
She affirmed that economic diplomacy is a key pillar for
driving financing for development and mobilizing domestic and external
resources for priority sectors, as outlined in the "National Integrated
Strategy for Financing Development" launched by the ministry last year.
Ambassador Chevallier affirmed that the renewed financial
cooperation "reinforces the agreement signed between the two presidents
last April and embodies the depth of our relations and our common goals."
During President Macron's state visit to Cairo last April,
several agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed, covering health,
oncology treatment, higher education, and the launch of 100 Francophone
schools. Al-Mashat had also signed an MoU for the technical and financial
cooperation agreement and a joint declaration on four solidarity investment
projects.
Additionally, the two governments signed nine agreements for concessional financing and grants worth 262.3 million euros to implement priority projects in water treatment, sanitation, electricity, and railways. These include the new East Alexandria wastewater treatment plant, the Alexandria regional control center project, and the Gabal Al-Asfar wastewater treatment plant project.