Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli has hailed the accelerating pace of a recent increase in the Norwegian investments in Egypt, mainly in the fields of renewable energy, seawater desalination and fish production.
The premier made the remarks on Thursday 31/3/2022 during a meeting with Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anniken Huitfeldt and her accompanying delegation in the presence of Electricity Minister Mohamed Shaker and Planning and Economic Development Minister Hala el Saeed along with other senior officials.
Madbouli welcomed Norway’s strong pro-investment orientation in Egypt, saying that the government is committed to creating proper conditions to ensure the success and increase of these investments.
He expressed his keenness to boost investment cooperation between both sides in light of the framework agreement signed earlier in the day between Egypt’s Sovereign Fund and Norwegian Investment Fund for developing countries (Norfund) in the field of developing renewable energy projects mainly those related to green hydrogen, green ammonia and green infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian minister commended the Egyptian government’s efforts to support peace in the region, especially when it comes to the Palestinian case.
She thanked the government on supporting the Norwegian companies in Egypt, particularly those working in the renewable energy and green hydrogen production fields.
Huitfeldt asserted her country’s keenness to support Egypt during its presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference 2022 (COP 27) in November.
In this regard, Madbouli said it is important to shift from the phase of pledges to the phase of implementation of the obligations on the ground during COP 27.
The prime minister said Egypt will uncover an updated version of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement, a matter that requires further cooperation with the international partners.
Madbouli pointed out to Egypt’s ambitious plans to boost its climate action, mainly those related to shifting to low-carbon energy sources, expanding seawater desalination plants and turning the country into a regional hub for green hydrogen, which, he said, require considerable funding and further investments.
Egypt will also discuss with its sisterly African countries crystalizing an African agenda for climate change to boost efforts to mobilize climate-related financing.
In this regard, the Norwegian minister expressed her understanding of the importance of financing to help countries implement their NDCs, saying that her country announced its intention to double its climate finance to 14 billion Norwegian Krone (1.6 billion dollar) by 2026.
Meanwhile, the electricity minister reviewed the State’s strategy to increase the renewable energy contribution to its national power mix, noting that 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy are targeted to be produced by 2023.
He added that the State targets to grow the renewable energy capacity to cover 42% of the domestic electricity needs by 2035.
The Planning Minister who is also the chairperson of Egypt’s Sovereign Fund pointed out to the Environmental Sustainability Standards Guide launched by the government which is aimed at doubling the green public investment to 50% by 2024-2025, up from 30% in 2021-2022.
Source: State Information Service Egypt