The European Union and Egypt have signed the Financing Agreement for the Interreg cooperation programme ‘NEXT MED’ during the EU-Egypt Investment Conference held on 29 June. The agreement was signed by Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement and Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister for International Cooperation. Thanks to the financing agreement, beneficiaries from Egypt are now fully eligible to receive EU funds in the context of Interreg NEXT MED Programme.

The document will be countersigned by Autonomous Region of Sardinia, as institution hosting of the Programme’s Managing Authority.

The signing ceremony took place as part of the EU-Egypt Investment Conference, co-organised by the EU and the Government of Egypt on 29-30 June to boost economic reforms pursued by Egypt to improve the business environment and to attract further EU investment in key sectors.

Opening the Investment Conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden said: “One hundred days ago we opened a new era in the relations between Egypt and the European Union, with our strategic and comprehensive partnership. Today, we deliver. We deliver for Egyptian businesses and entrepreneurs with €1 billion in macro-financial assistance, which will incentivise the reforms that businesses and entrepreneurs in the private sector need. We deliver strategic investments that will help make Egypt a clean energy hub at the centre of the Mediterranean, crossroads. And we deliver for Egypt’s youth, with a new skills programme so they succeed in the economy of the future. And this is just the beginning.”

Interreg NEXT MED aims to foster fair, equitable and sustainable development across the Mediterranean Sea Basin and as such contributes to the EU’s Agenda for the Mediterranean. With an EU contribution of €263 million, the NEXT MED is the largest EU-funded external cooperation programme in the Mediterranean Sea Basin. It brings together the coastal territories of 15 countries (7 EU and 8 partner countries), including Egypt.