Cairo – Mubasher: The Ministers of International Cooperation, Local Development, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, and Social Solidarity held a meeting at the headquarters of the Ministry of International Cooperation, to discuss strengthening the efforts made by the Egyptian government in investing in human capital, particularly through projects that support communities and rural women.
Done in cooperation with multilateral and bilateral development partners, the projects are aimed at improving the living conditions of rural communities, in line with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s “Decent Life” Presidential Initiative.
The meeting comes within the framework of joint efforts between national entities, and the role played by the Ministry of International Cooperation to support upgrading human capital through international partnerships, and to improve the living conditions of vulnerable communities in rural areas.
The Minister of International Cooperation, Rania El-Mashat, said that the projects supporting rural communities and women are weaved in the ministry’s portfolio bringing together national entities and global development partners to align efforts in order to ensure effective implementation.
El-Mashat shared that the Egyptian government, in order to push for a sustainable and inclusive future, has taken several steps in stimulating investment in human capital and in capacity building across various fields, including health, education, and women, among many others.
She elaborated that in 2020, the Ministry of International Cooperation concluded cooperation agreements with development partners worth $900 million aimed at enhancing investing in human capital, including $500 million for the social protection sectors and $400 million for Egypt’s Universal Health Insurance System (UHIS). The Rural Communities Support Project was implemented in cooperation with national entities and the World Food Programme across 63 villages in five governorates, thus contributing to enhancing the communities and empowering women and small farmers.
The Minister of Local Development, Mahmoud Shaarawy, stressed the importance of line ministries’ coordination to implement the project of supporting women, and rural and agricultural communities.
Shaarawy pointed out the ministry’s support for the project through its various programs, such as the “Upper Egypt Local Development Program” and the “Decent Life” Initiative, all of which help in providing job opportunities for the youth, women, and farmers via low-interest loans. The economic support program, “Your Project”, is important to establish micro-and small enterprises advancing the village’s socioeconomic status.
For his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, El-Sayed El-Quseir, stressed the importance of projects related to agricultural and rural development, and the need to invest in these areas as a priority in the coming period in order to achieve agricultural sustainability and modernisation.
The minister referred to the efforts made in the Sustainable Agricultural Investment and Improvement of Livelihoods (SAIL) project done in cooperation between the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation and the International Fund For Agricultural Development (IFAD). Implemented across 30 villages, the project aims to support food security and improve economic and social conditions. He added that this project can serve as an exemplary foundation in order to spread sustainable interventions in other villages.
El-Quseir pointed out the importance of field school projects that train and educate farmers, as they help in achieving development and increasing productivity. He added that these projects would be of interest to development partners in expanding their scope and increasing the number of beneficiaries.
The Minister of Social Solidarity, Nevine El-Kabbaj, also said that 67% of the beneficiaries under social solidarity services are rural residents. The ministry provides support through advancing services that empower rural women, develops programs for productive families, vocational training, and poverty reduction, and establishes nurseries in the countryside. There is also the family planning awareness campaign “Two is Enough”, that raises awareness on the importance of providing a quality life to the children in terms of education, services, and access to basic needs.
El-Kabbaj added that the ministry is a key partner in the “Decent Life” Initiative: investing in the human capital development programs, maximising family and childhood development, and raising the living standards of citizens. The Ministry of Social Solidarity’s database of vulnerable citizens is crucial to trace the groups most in need of the government’s support; as the system helps in designing the social development programs that would connect the public service employees and the NGOs to the vulnerable groups.
In 2020, the Ministry of International Cooperation secured $9.8 billion worth of development financing agreements, including $6.7 billion to implement 70 state sector projects, and $3.2 billion for the private sector.
