Cairo: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty met on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, with Nardos Bekele, Executive Director of the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD), to discuss ways to enhance development cooperation across the African continent.
According to State Information Service Egypt, Ambassador Tammam Khalaf, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Abdelatty expressed his appreciation for the ongoing coordination with NEPAD during Egypt's current chairmanship of the Steering Committee of Heads of State and Government of the agency. He affirmed Egypt's aspiration to deepen joint cooperation, build on achieved successes, and maintain close collaboration to implement the priorities of Egypt's NEPAD chairmanship. These priorities include mobilizing the necessary resources to advance the African Union's Agenda 2063, promoting infrastructure and industrialization projects, and supporting the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement to serve the interests and aspirations of African peoples.
The foreign minister emphasized the importance of expanding the agency's activities to generate tangible development outcomes for African citizens, praising the ongoing cooperation with Egypt to establish NEPAD offices in several African countries in line with the agency's priorities. He also highlighted the significance of the 'Africa Grows' initiative, aimed at mobilizing funds to finance approximately 300 development projects, in addition to supporting Egypt's proposal to establish a dedicated NEPAD Development Fund.
In this context, Abdelatty stressed Egypt's commitment to continued collaboration with the agency's Secretariat in resource mobilization efforts. He emphasized the importance of maintaining coordination to implement pioneering infrastructure projects listed under the Presidential Initiative for Infrastructure Leaders, particularly the navigation link between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean (VICMED) and the Cairo-Cape Town Corridor, which would enhance intra-African trade, regional integration, and comprehensive continental development.
He also reaffirmed Egypt's keenness to share its leading experience in development, modernization, and capacity-building with sister African countries, especially in vital sectors. He noted the importance of designing ambitious and integrated programs that link development, peace, and security, consistent with the African Union's policy for post-conflict reconstruction and development, and the outcomes of the fifth edition of the Aswan Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development. In this regard, he praised the ongoing cooperation between NEPAD and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding in supporting the capacity-building of African countries and their personnel.