Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Rania El-Mashat, met with a high-level delegation from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), to review the results of the visit to Egypt running from 23 to 30 October, and to follow up on ongoing projects with the IFAD that come within the framework of its joint relation with Egypt, according to a statement on Thursday.
The IFAD’s delegation included the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Yaya Olaniran; Ambassador Permanent Representative of Argentina to FAO, Carlos Bernardo; Associate Vice President of Programme Management Department at the IFAD, Donal Brown; the Regional Director of the Near East, North Africa, and Europe Division (NEN) in IFAD, Dina Saleh; Director of the Independent Office of Evaluation at the IFAD, Indran Naidoo; and several Executive Board members and senior staff of the IFAD.
During the meeting, they discussed the Egyptian government's efforts to achieve food security and to rapidly respond to the negative repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic that directly impacts countries’ food production and agriculture, which requires the consolidation of sustainable and smart agriculture practices.
They further delved into areas of future cooperation between Egypt and the IFAD, within the framework of achieving rural development through the “Decent Life” presidential initiative; this is in addition to enhancing the private sector’s engagement in development efforts through bolstering international partnerships.
For her part, El-Mashat affirmed the strategic partnership with the IFAD, that works towards widening the scope of joint cooperation with development partners through pushing forward food security, which has become an indispensable goal for the world in light of the negative repercussions of the pandemic and climate change.
She further added that the cooperation with the IFAD has achieved integration with the government’s efforts to develop the capabilities of small-scale farmers; improve their access to knowledge and markets; and boost smart agricultural practices; pushing forward the agriculture sector sustainability to adapt to climate change; expressing her aspiration to further joint cooperation with the IFAD in light of the global efforts to develop effective plans for climate action and responding to its negative repercussions.
The minister also referred to Egypt’s endeavours to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) and to increase financing allocated to climate action.
The IFAD is one of the United Nations specialised agencies, founded in 1977 and headquartered in Rome, Italy. The IFAD works to address poverty and hunger in rural areas, promote social development, achieve gender equality, food security, and sustainable environmental development.
The development cooperation portfolio with the IFAD amounts to $1.1 billion, as it contributed to providing development financing to 14 projects, in cooperation with several development partners, where the IFAD’s financing contribution amounted to $520 million.
These projects managed to achieve sustainable agricultural development, to raise the income level of small-scale farmers. The development cooperation portfolio also encompasses financing three projects, including the Sustainable Agricultural Investment and Improvement of Livelihoods (SAIL) project; the project to enhance the marketing capabilities of small farmers in the Egyptian countryside (PRIME); and the project to enhance adaptation in desert environments (PRIDE) in Matrouh Governorate.
