On Tuesday, November 21, Yasmine Fouad, the Egyptian Minister of Environment, took part in the opening of the EIB Regional Headquarters for North Africa and the Near East. She took part in the panel discussion on enhancing regional impact and the Bank’s international partnership as well.
Fouad emphasized during the discussion that the Egyptian government’s and development banks’ collaboration in tackling diverse issues and promoting development is a successful narrative that has given rise to numerous significant projects. Egypt and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have a long history of working together on climate change-related projects.
As for the “Novi” platform projects and the role of the Bank’s Regional Center in their implementation, Yasmine Fouad stated that the programs on the platform were created with the needs of Egyptians for food, energy, and water in mind, and they were linked to climate change. This allowed for significant advancements in the Novi platform over a year in collaboration with development banks and partners.
The environment minister emphasized that turning the “Novi” program from a paper concept into an operational program that fits the Egyptian development model required cultivating a cooperative environment and collaborating with development partners.
The establishment of the National Climate Change Council, chaired by the prime minister and representatives from several ministries, has been instrumental in effectively incorporating the climate dimension into development plans.
In order to strike a balance between environmental preservation and economic expansion, the minister emphasized the importance of modifying the language used in environmental discussions with various development sectors.
That made it easier to include the environment and climate in the strategic planning of different development sectors and to move away from just lowering pollution to protecting natural resources to maximize financial gains. A powerful source of funding was made available by the Ministry of Environment when it attempted to get the private sector involved in operations and services within natural reserves.
For her part, Gelsomina Vigliotti, Vice President of the European Investment Bank for the Mashreq region, confirmed that the announcement of the EIB Regional Center in Cairo is a historic step that builds on five decades of partnership, coinciding with the passage of 20 years for the Bank’s headquarters in Cairo.
