Cairo – Mubasher: Egypt has signed several agreements with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) that have addressed many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) such as quality education, zero poverty, gender equality, and health and well-being, the Minister of International Cooperation, Rania El-Mashat, said.

“Cooperation between the governments of Egypt and the US through USAID projects has been multidisciplinary with measurable impact on people’s lives. USAID projects are exemplary projections of Egypt’s Global Partnerships Narrative with People at the Core and Projects in action and Purpose as the Driver,” El-Mashat added.

In a virtual call on Thursday, El-Mashat thanked Sherry Carlin, USAID Mission Director to Egypt, for her five and half years of service before her departure to lead the USAID mission in Jordan.

From her side, Carlin congratulated the Egyptian government’s efforts and commended El-Mashat’s leadership, emphasising the Ministry’s role in transforming Egypt’s development - one that is visionary and results oriented.

“During the five years here, the journey has been incredible. The crucial transformation that underpins everything we seek to do is the partnership we have with the government of Egypt. We always speak about opportunities, and there are only opportunities ahead of us,” Carlin noted.

Carlin has also expressed her gratitude and admiration on development projects executed in North Sinai. “I’ve witnessed great transformation in North Sinai. Through a $50 million infrastructure project, USAID worked with the governorate’s leadership and the Sinai Water and Wastewater Company to ensure that 450,000 residents of North Sinai have access to safe drinking water.  It’s astonishing to see desalination plants, deep wells, and reservoirs -- designed and constructed by Egyptians, for Egyptians, with American support -- emerge from the desert.”

According to a statement by US Ambassador Jonathan Cohen, the North Sinai bilateral agreement reflects the US’ strong and enduring partnership with the Egyptian government through the Ministry of International Cooperation and the US government’s commitment to the people of Egypt, especially for critical economic development efforts in Sinai.

Moreover, Carlin has also commended the Ministry’s efforts in convening all development partners and bringing them together for an inclusive dialogue on effective development cooperation as well as institutionalising the public outreach programmes to engage and connect on a global and national scale.

“Under the current leadership of Minister of International Cooperation Rania El-Mashat, together we have pushed for more and deeper collaboration that has translated to impactful programmes that are fully in line with Egyptian government priorities,” Carlin said.

On 9 July, USAID and the Ministry of International Cooperation celebrated in a virtual event the signing of six bilateral assistance agreement amendments worth $90 million. The six amendments will support programming in the areas of higher education, basic education, joint US-Egypt science and technology cooperation, health, trade and investment, and agriculture.

The USAID programme in Egypt, totaling over $30 billion since 1978, promotes a healthy, educated, and employed population.

The current total joint portfolio between Egypt and USAID amounts to about $1bn through bilateral agreements in sectors including agriculture, basic education, higher education, health, and tourism.

The two sides also have joint projects in trade and investment, water and sanitation, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women’s empowerment. The Egyptian American Business Fund is also involved in supporting SMEs in Egypt.