Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held extensive meetings with the leaders of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the Under-Secretary-General to the United Nations to explore pathways to push towards Egypt's climate-resilient future as part of the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington. IFC officials that participated in the meeting included Emmanuel Nyirinkindi, Vice President of IFC for Cross-Cutting Solutions; Vivek Pathak, IFC's Global Head and Director of Climate Business; Sérgio Pimenta, IFC's Regional Vice President for Africa; Yasmine Al-Hini, Country Officer for IFC in Egypt; and Marina Wes, Country Director for Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti at the World Bank. Al-Mashat explored prospects for unlocking private sector finance, which is in line with the government's vision to foster a private sector-driven economy. She also highlighted the important role of the private sector in expanding green hydrogen projects. Moreover, she referred to the strategic relations between Egypt and the IFC in providing development finance to the private sector, pointing out the importance of continuing discussions regarding innovative financing and risk reduction tools to scale up climate finance. The minister also held meetings with Hiroshi Matano — Executive Vice President at the MIGA — and others, where she discussed future cooperation plans with Egypt on climate action in preparation for the 27th edition of the Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) that will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, particularly in regard to SDG 7 for clean and affordable energy. Furthermore, Al-Mashat met with Vera Songwe — United Nations Under-Secretary-General and ninth serving Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa — where they discussed strengthening South-South cooperation and the importance of the role of international financial institutions in supporting the countries of Africa in the face of the current global challenges.
