Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat said that the fruitful cooperation with the European Investment Bank (EIB) is reinforcing joint development efforts and therefore the private sectors growth. EIB Vice President Gelsomina Vigliotti will be heading on a four-day visit to Egypt to strengthen cooperation with Egyptian public and private partners and discuss future EIB priority investments in many sectors. This will be Vigliotti’s first high-level visit to Egypt as EIB VP for the Mashreq region since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last 41 years, the EIB has provided more than €14 billion for energy, water, agriculture, telecom, transport, and private sector investment in Egypt. Last year, the EIB provided more than €1bn for business, telecom, and transport investment in Egypt. “The EIB is a key partner for Egypt, and I welcome VP Vigliotti on her first official visit to our country,” said Al-Mashat. “The EIB and the EU Bank is committed to supporting transformational private and public investment across Egypt, improving access to finance by entrepreneurs and addressing the challenges of a changing climate. Egypt is the leading country of operation for the EIB outside of Europe. My financial and technical colleagues and I look forward to discussing how to strengthen economic resilience to existing and new challenges and enhancing the impact of future EIB engagement in Egypt,” said Vigliotti. Mashat also met virtually with Sonja Gibbs, Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Finance for the Institute of International Finance, in the attendance of Wolfgang Engel, General Manager & Chief Representative - Institute of International Finance. Mashat discussed suggestions for joint cooperation with the Institute, under the framework of Egypt presiding the COP27.