Seville: Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Rania el-Mashat held a series of bilateral meetings with multilateral and bilateral development partners and government representatives during the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), held in Seville, Spain.According to State Information Service Egypt, Mashat discussed with Jozef Síkela, EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, the developments in the Egypt-European strategic partnership. The dialogue centered on the macroeconomic support mechanism and budget support worth 4 billion euros, alongside the activation of the investment guarantee mechanism valued at 1.8 billion euros to enhance investments and increase guarantees from international institutions.Mashat also met with Spain's Minister of Economy Carlos Cuerpo, where she emphasized the importance of the FfD4 as a pivotal moment for fulfilling international commitments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She high lighted the significance of the Sevilla Platform of Action (SPA) in achieving a qualitative shift in financing development and climate action, focusing on enabling countries to lead their national financing strategies and linking national plans with practical financing.Amid the slowdown in development due to fiscal constraints, Mashat noted the necessity of implementing the conference's recommendations to enable countries to return to the development path. She also engaged with Axel van Trotsenburg, the World Bank's Senior Managing Director, and Hiroshi Matano, Executive Vice President at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), to discuss Egypt's relations with the World Bank Group and the expansion of investment guarantees to stimulate investments.Mashat reviewed the ministry's report on concessional financing for the private sector, which has exceeded 15.6 billion dollars since 2020. In discussions with Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (E BRD), she affirmed the depth of Egyptian-EBRD relations and explored enhancing investment in private sector projects.Mashat further elaborated on the role of multilateral development banks in supporting sustainable development by providing concessional financing and building institutional capacities. She stressed the growing need to strengthen cooperation with these institutions to advance the development agenda amid global challenges.Talks with Nadia Calvino, President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), focused on strengthening joint relations, with Mashat affirming the EIB's significant role as a development partner for Egypt. She highlighted Egypt's status as the largest operational country for the EIB outside Europe.Furthermore, Mashat engaged with Morocco's Minister of Economy Nadia Fettah Alaoui to enhance economic cooperation between Egypt and Morocco, and with Italy's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Edmondo Cirielli on boosting Egyptian-Italian economic relations. Discussions also include d the debt-for-development swap program.Mashat also met with Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to discuss global economic developments and preparations for the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil. She stressed the importance of fair climate finance for developing countries.Additional meetings included discussions with Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser al Misnad from Qatar, Carsten Staur from the OECD, Jay Collins from Citigroup, and Nicholas Stern from the Grantham Research Institute. These discussions focused on enhancing partnerships, technical support, and innovative financing mechanisms to advance development financing and climate action efforts.