During the annual meetings of Arab financial institutions in Egypt's new administrative capital, Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, held bilateral discussions with the Tunisian Minister of Economy and Planning as well as the Director-General of the OPEC Fund for International Development.

In her meeting with the Tunisian Minister, Al-Mashat and her counterpart explored opportunities to enhance bilateral cooperation and exchange experiences in the field of international development financing. The Egyptian minister highlighted Egypt's efforts to strengthen partnerships with multilateral and bilateral development partners, noting that the current development cooperation portfolio stands at around $26 billion.

The two ministers also discussed measures implemented by Egypt to empower the private sector and increase its participation in the country's development plans. Al-Mashat mentioned the launch of an electronic system to facilitate the development of financing projects and improve monitoring and evaluation.

Separately, in her talks with the OPEC Fund Director-General, Al-Mashat emphasized the importance of the long-standing cooperation between Egypt and the Fund, dating back to the 1970s. She sought to strengthen technical support mechanisms, particularly in the context of Egypt's NWFE program, which focuses on the water-food-energy nexus.

The minister also discussed increasing joint efforts to empower the private sector through the Hafiz platform, an integrated initiative launched by the Ministry of International Cooperation to connect development partners with private sector services. Egypt's ongoing development cooperation with the OPEC Fund amounts to approximately $1.5 billion, supporting projects in various priority sectors.