Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait, Egypt's Governor to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), asserted that the State was gathering all its potentials to render a success to the 2023 Annual Meeting of the AIIB Board of Governors, due to be held in Sharm El Sheikh on September 25-26.
This came during the minister of finance's meeting Wednesday with the higher preparatory committee for AIIB's annual meetings. The meeting was held at the Finance Ministry premises in the New Administrative Capital.
During the meeting, Maait ordered organizing the event on highest standards to honor Egypt's image, drawing on the expertise of the organization of UN Climate Conference (COP27), held in November in Sharm El Sheikh in 2022.
He said special session will be organized on the fringe of the event in which representatives of the private sector will be participating to get briefed on available investment opportunities in Egypt with funding facilitation in the various fields of concern.
According to Maait, the fact that the AIIB will be holding its annual meetings in Africa and Egypt for the first time clearly shows that it is completely aware of Egypt’s unique location and political influence and that it is also keen to boost its investments in infrastructure in Egypt in partnership with the private sector.
“Egypt and the AIIB share a historic and long-standing relationship, starting when Egypt joined as a non-regional founding member in August 2016,” Maait said, adding that “since then, we have successfully leveraged our partnership and jointly financed projects in the energy and water sectors and for the Covid-19 response, which have had a positive impact on the lives of many Egyptian communities.”
He said that “by cooperating across borders and working together in collaboration, Egypt and the AIIB will continue to work together to achieve sustainable development through infrastructure.”
Egypt has received dlrs 1.3 billion in funding from the AIIB across five projects, and out of this amount the AIIB has contributed 250 million euros to the country’s transport sector (the construction of the Alexandria-Abu Qir metro line), dlrs 210 million to the Benban Solar Power Plant in Aswan, dlrs 360 million to fund the budget deficit, dlrs 300 million to the water sector (sanitary drainage services in rural areas), and dlrs150 million as a credit line to the National Bank of Egypt.
The AIIB’s capital stands at dlrs 100 billion. Egypt’s subscription stands at dlrs 650 million, making it the largest subscriber in Africa, he added.
This year's Annual Meeting will take place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on September 25-26, 2023. It marks AIIB's first in-person Annual Meeting since 2019 and the first one in Africa. The principal venue of the Annual Meeting will be the Sharm El Sheikh International Congress Center (SHICC).
The theme of the Eighth Annual Meetings this year is “Sustainable Growth in a Challenging World”, which highlights the bank’s continuing commitment to supporting the key infrastructure demands of its members. It alludes to the climate-centered global agenda and the compounding challenges faced by its members.
Source: State Information Service Egypt