Egypt, JICA discuss economic cooperation

CAIRO – 27 May 2019: Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Ma’it discussed with a delegation of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) cooperation in the energy sector to support efficiency and production, as well as the expansion in producing clean energy.

The Japanese delegation pointed out that the proposed budget for developing the Egyptian energy sector is worth around $800 million, funded by JICA, the African Development Bank (AFDB), and the French Development Agency (AFD).

The Ministry of Finance added in a statement that Ma’it asked for raising the value of the proposed budget to $1 billion.

The meeting also discussed JICA’s suggestion to cooperate with the World Bank in supporting the public budget by $500 million, which will be directed to health care programs.

JICA offered to provide these programs for $250 million to contribute to the development of the inclusive health care.

Ma’it affirmed that the government works on accelerating the application of the inclusive health care law.

He also reviewed JICA’s suggestion to develop the Egyptian health insurance community which targets improving and managing medical entities with the help of Japanese experts in this field.

The Japanese delegation pointed to JICA’s willingness to contribute to funding the centers and hospitals required in the application of the comprehensive health insurance system.