During a recent meeting between Minister Rania Al Mashat and the Italian Ambassador to Cairo, Michele Quaroni, the Ministry of International Cooperation (MoIC) announced that the two countries have reached an agreement to initiate discussions for a 4th phase of the intercountry Debt Swap Program.
According to an official statement from the MoIC, Quaroni expressed the Italian government’s strong commitment to providing support for the sectors identified in Egypt’s Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE) Program.
The session, focusing on the advancements made during the program’s third phase, was graced by the presence of delegates from the Italian Development Agency and the committee’s Technical Support Unit.
In the third phase, which is valued at $100 million, numerous projects have been funded. These projects are related to food security and agriculture, higher education, civil society support, environmental and cultural heritage conservation, women’s empowerment, the establishment of ten wheat storage hubs, and projects focused on children’s empowerment and protection.
In 2001, the Italian-Egypt debt swap program was established, amounting to $149 million of debt from aid credits. This initiative funded 53 projects across various sectors including environmental protection, cultural heritage, rural development, small and medium enterprise development, education, and social protection.
Following an additional debt installment of $100 million, the second phase of the program commenced in 2007. This funding facilitated the implementation of 31 projects, which, in continuation of the initiatives established under the initial agreement, addressed areas such as human resource development, technology transfer, primary production development, environmental protection, and social development.
Quaroni has indicated that Italy is currently investigating initiatives in the agro-food sector, providing assistance to communities impacted by climate change and food scarcity, and making investments in Egypt’s human resources for the 4th phase.
During the meeting, Al Mashat emphasized the significance of the debt swap program mechanism, currently being executed in collaboration with the Italian authorities. This approach is being considered by numerous development partners as a model to relieve the Egyptian government’s external debt obligations.
