Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, met with the American business community and a mission of investors. The meeting was organized by the American Chamber of Commerce, with the aim of attracting investment and finance in the run-up to COP27.

In the context of COP27, the Minister emphasized that green hydrogen is Egypt’s next great investment opportunity, as it is regarded globally as the fuel of the future.

Egypt aims to increase the electricity supply generated from renewable sources to 42% by 2035, Al-Mashat noted.

The Minister of International Cooperation referred to the government’s preparations to host the United Nations Climate Conference (COP27), to strengthen partnerships between the public and private sectors in the field of green transformation, and to start implementing a clear strategy to expand the green hydrogen sector, as well as diversification of funding sources.

Al-Mashat stated that international partnerships play a pivotal role in bridging the climate financing gap, as developed countries promised to provide $100 billion to finance climate action between 2020-2025, while the cost of climate change in Africa is estimated at between 7-15 billion dollars annually, pointing out that these challenges reinforce the need to develop a framework for innovative financing to support climate action efforts. Blended financing to reduce investment risks in related projects.

The Minister referred to Egypt’s recent global press conference, where Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mostafa Madbouly, outlined Egypt’s vision to increase private sector investments to 65 percent in the next three years, and the recent measures to empower the start-ups’ community in Egypt under its vision to grow as a start-up nation.

The meeting was attended by Steve Lutes is vice president of Middle East Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ambassador David Thorne Senior Advisor to the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, Adviser to the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry, Tarek Tawfik, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Cairo, along with representatives from the US Embassy in Cairo.

The mission included representatives from 40 major US development institutions, including the US Export-Import Bank, the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC), the Apache Software Foundation, Bank of America, Boeing, Google, Citibank, as well as General Electric, HSBC, IBM, FedEx, and PepsiCo.