Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good evening… Ramadan Kareem

Welcome to the EU annual Press Iftar for journalists and media professionals. Thanks for attending this important occasion which is an opportunity to discuss the most important aspects of the bilateral EU-Egypt relations. It is also an opportunity to meet you in person. Free media and well-informed citizens are bases for a modern democratic country. Access to information and freedom of media are essential in order to formulate and successfully implement government policies. The media should be able to present reports to the whole society on different issues without restrictions. Hence, accountability could not be applied unless there’s transparency.

(…)

Distinguished Guests,

At the EU, we work to enhance our partnership not only with the Arab World but with the African continent as well. Since Egypt has chaired the African Union (AU), this will be a good opportunity for a trilateral cooperation among the EU, Egypt and the AU.(…)

Moreover, I would like to note that in addition to the huge financial support provided by the EU to Egypt for the water sector – about 450 million EUR including projects covering 12 governorates that will improve the lives of around 12.5 million Egyptians, we also participated in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in the “National Competition for Water Conservation”. Building on the success of the last year’s competition, two contests will be launched this year. (…)

In addition to the projects funded by the EU aiming particularly to support the rights of women and girls, I would like to mention that around 50% of the ongoing EU development cooperation with Egypt (around EUR 1.4 billion) targets improvement in key infrastructure and access to services. Through improved infrastructure and services, women and girls, especially in poor areas, can have better and safer access to their work places and schools.(…)

Read more

Speech