Egypt State Information Service

Egypt is still playing its role as one of the major powers in the region which supports its international relations that are positively reflected on its march towards development and progress. This is obvious in the fruitful international cooperation in all fields in terms of boosting and coordinating trade and economic relations on all levels to activate the agreements and programmes that lead to increasing the joint investment volume and opening new fields for the economic cooperation among Egypt and many of the world's countries.

- Total agreements that were concluded with our development partners during 2006/07 reached a number of (44) agreements through which a total amount of grants provided reached $ 740,033 million at a ratio of 28.5% of the total finance volume.

A number of (18) agreements were signed with total finance $ 1.4 billion at a ratio of 53.8% of the total finance volume ($ 2.6 billion), of which $ 2.602 million as grants, $ 9.189 million as technical aids and about $ 1.350 billion as loans. African Development Bank contributions ranked first at a ratio of 43.2%, while the International Bank for Construction and Development contributions ranked second at a ratio of 39.9%, Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development contributions came at a ratio of 13.7%, Saudi Fund contributions came at a ratio of 1.8%, International Fund For Agricultural Development came at a ratio of 1.8% and lately Arab Fund for Economic Development Contributions came at a ratio of 0.2%. All these are to finance several projects and agreements salient of which are the projects of establishing Sohag/Red Sea road, supporting small enterprises, combating the industrial pollution, extending the natural gas net, studying the development of the national net for transferring electricity, eliminating poverty and enhancing legal rights for the Egyptian women and teenagers.

Total finance volume from European countries reached $ (508.802) million at a ratio of 19.6% of total finance volume in which $ 25.363 million was in the form of grants, and total loans of $ 483.439 million through (6) agreements.

France came in the first rank as it provided loans at a ratio of 85.5% of the total European finance volume with an amount of $ 435.387 million to finance the first phase of Cairo underground third line as well as a loan for the industrial pollution project (second phase).

Total grants volume that were provided from the (USA) reached $ (686.324) million at a ratio of 26.4% of total finance volume ($ 2.6 billion) through (13) agreements to finance several projects salient of which are Communication and Information Technology, Standard of Living, Income from Environment (Hayat), Improving Heath and Family Planning Project, Upgrading Elementary Education, Importing Goods for Private Sector, Developing Secondary Cities, Supporting Equity Management and Modernizing the Financial Sector Programme.

The total grants provided from Japan reached $ (13.170) million through (4) agreements to contribute in the implementation of rehabilitating the floating pumps station in Upper Egypt (fourth phase), increasing wheat production in Giza and Al Menya governorates and modernizing Damnhour station for primary agriculture.

Developing Cooperation Relations with some International Powers during the Second Half of 2007:

The second half of 2007 witnessed holding more international cooperation agreements with a number of Arab, Asian and European countries as follows:

In the framework of the Egyptian priority plan along five years, the second category agreement has been signed to exchange debts with Italy. By virtue of such agreement, installments from due debts on Egypt to Italy shall be exchanged with a total amount of $ 100 million and transferred to an equivalent sum of money with local currency to finance developmental projects as follows:

- Developing the human resources, providing job opportunities through develop-ing technical education and vocational training and implementing programmes for labours in Egypt and outside to benefit from the Italian models;

- Improving the low-income brackets standard of living including providing and improving the infrastructure and enhancing the efforts exerted in the field of empowering women and child issues through the civil societies support;

- Increasing the production and productivity through enhancing and modernizing the major industrial sectors;

- Encouraging the increase of exports to Europe through "Al Mamar Al Akhdar" (The Green Passage) project especially through focusing on developing the maritime and land transport lines and through the production and export logistics;

- Supporting the efforts for attracting the European investments and the re-quirements of good quality; and

- Making use of the Italian experience in protecting the natural resources such as water resources, the areas of natural habitats and the cultural heritage.

By signing the second category agreement with Italy, the total value to exchange debts reached about $ 7 million that represents 2.5% of Egypt's total foreign debts.

Egypt is the biggest country that received the official Japanese aids with its three sides (grants – loans - technical cooperation) on the Middle East and African levels. Since 1973 and up till now, the total Japanese grants reached $ 1.338 billion where some projects were financed salient of which are: the Opera House, Suez Canal Bridge and the Children Hospital in Abu er-Reesh. On the other hand, the total loans since 1974 reached about $ 3.782 billion used in strategic projects such as the project of deepening and enlarging the bed of Suez Canal, the thermo-electric station in Shubra-el-Kheima, linking Cairo-Alexandria, generating electricity from wind in Za'afarana, Borg-Al Arab Airport, generating the solar energy in Kuraymat, and recently the project of combating the industrial pollution (stage 2) and the project of the Great Egyptian Museum.

The Egyptian-Japanese sides give great attention in their current talks for establishing the Egyptian- Japanese University for Science and Technology (E-JUST) which will be financed by the Japanese grants programme. This is considered the first project of its kind for the Japanese side. Japan is expected to send experts to put the final touches for the project.

In coordination with the Kuwaiti Fund, Egypt set up a developmental coopera-tion programme for the period (2007-2011) so as to finance several developmental projects especially in the electricity and railways sectors.

A memo of understanding was signed in which the American Administration presented a grant of about $ 24 million during (2007-2009) as $ 8 million annually with the aim of combating Bird Flu. By virtue of this memo, the media campaigns that will be made through the Ministry of Information and the State Information Service (SIS) will be funded. The Ministry of Information also signed a grant agreement presented from the Credit Fund for Combating Bird and Human Flu with an amount of $ 7 million financed by the European Union. This is within the framework of supporting the government's efforts to provide the necessary financial resources to implement the national strategy to combat Bird Flu.

The financial agreement for supporting "the Social Development" programme was signed. It was financed from the European Union with a total amount of Euro 20 million for the benefit of the Social Development Fund. This programme aims at limiting poverty, enhancing the economic and social development, and raising the efficiency of the Social Development Fund.

The Ministry is conducting more negotiations currently with the European Commissariat to sign the memo of understanding for the National Granting Flope programme. This memo will reflect the cooperation between the two sides during the period (2007-2010). It also provides a grant with an amount of Euro 558 million to support the Egyptian efforts to implement the national reform plan in different fields.

The Ministry discussed with the Swiss side the future of the development and investment projects in the Northwestern Coast especially in the light of the exerted efforts to remove mines from this area that represent 22% of Egypt's total area. It is worth mentioning that the Ministry established the executive secretariat for removing mines and developing the North Coast in August, 2007. This is in the framework of the first experimental phase for the cooperation between the Egyptian Government and the UN Development Programme which will continue for 18 months with a cost of about $ 3.2 million. Then, there will be a preparation for the second phase for about 5-6 years that aims at removing explosive bodies in the Northwestern Coast.

A financial agreement for cooperation was signed. By virtue of such agreement, the Austrian government provides credit coverage of about Euro 50 million to finance developmental projects in the sectors of health, transport, education, potable and drainage water; and environment for about Euro 10 million for each project.