During a Meeting with HE Tarek El-Molla, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources: Methanex Egypt and the ILO Celebrate Key Milestones of their Sustainable Community Development Partnership in Damietta

Methanex Corporation Senior Vice President Brad Boyd today met with H E Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Molla. The meeting was attended by Mohamed Shindy, Methanex Egypt Managing Director, Eric Oechslin International Labor Organization Cairo Office Director and representatives of the ILO and the Canadian Embassy in Cairo. The meeting was held to celebrate the most recent milestone of the Methanex-ILO Project ‘Decent Jobs for Egypt’s Young People – Tackling the Challenge Together in Damietta’ – a protocol agreement held with the Chamber of Food Industries of the Federation of the Egyptian Industries, providing Training for Employment to 100 young women and men from Damietta, to be employed by food enterprises in the Governorate of Damietta.

In 2019 Methanex Egypt signed a partnership agreement with the International Labor Organization to see the ILO’s flagship project ‘Decent Jobs for Egypt’s Young People’ (“DJEP”) extended to Damietta, where the company operates its methanol production plant through a $1,000,000 donation to the ILO from Methanex Egypt. The project aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals 2030 and aims to create decent employment opportunities for youth in the governorate of Damietta, focusing on employment creation through promoting entrepreneurship and facilitating job matching processes. Since 2019, the project has successfully empowered over 1,000 young women and men from Damietta through its programs Start and Improve Your Business, GET Ahead for Women in Enterprise in alignment with Hayah Kareema Presidential Initiative and Job Search Clubs, contributing to the creation of over 515 jobs.

“The value this project brings to the beneficiaries from Damietta aligns with the very spirit of our belief in our role to add value to the areas in which we operate. The decision to embark on this one-of-a-kind partnership has enabled Methanex Egypt to support Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030 through addressing decent work,” said Mohamed Shindy, Methanex Egypt Managing Director.

During the meeting, Shindy updated HE on the progress of the partnership with the ILO and shared the latest milestone that will see 100 additional young women and men employed in Damietta’s food sector after undergoing the training for employment module delivered by the Chamber of Food Industries. Commenting on this milestone, Eric Oechslin said: “The ILO promotes decent work for all and helps improving working conditions through upgrading skills or acquiring new ones via training, education and lifelong learning to remain employable, and promoting workers well-being and occupational safety and health. We are pleased to work with companies from the energy sector with the support from the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and in collaboration with the Chamber of Food Industries of the Federation of Egyptian Industries. This partnership is a model we should replicate in other corporate social responsibilities’ initiatives to encourage large companies to support small and medium size enterprises.”

About the Egyptian Methanex Methanol Production Company:

The Egyptian Methanex Methanol Company S.A.E. is the Egyptian joint venture operation of Methanex Corporation, the global leader in methanol industry supply, distribution and marketing. Methanex holds a 50% interest in the joint venture, together with the Egyptian government partners: Egyptian Petrochemical Holding Company (ECHEM), which holds 12%; Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS), which holds 12%; Egyptian National Gas Company (GASCO), which holds 9% in addition to the Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP), which holds 17%.

Methanex Egypt’s state of the art methanol production facility is located in Damietta, Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea and is among the most energy efficient methanol plants in the world. The plant has a production capacity of up to 1.3 million tonnes of methanol per year, supplying both the local and global markets.

About ILO Cairo Office:

The unique tripartite structure of ILO brings together governments, representatives of workers and employers organizations of its 187 member countries. Egypt has been a member of the ILO since 1936, and the country office in Cairo has been established in 1959. The ILO in Egypt is supporting its tripartite partners in Egypt in the application of Egypt’s Sustainable Development Agenda: Egypt’s vision 2030.