Dutch Minister for Development Koenders promotes broad Dutch-Egyptian relationships and confirms Dutch contribution to the agenda for equitable economic and democratic development. Minister Koenders pays his first bilateral visit to Egypt on October 28 and 29 since entering office.

The Netherlands’ development programme is focussed on promoting growth and distribution and good governance in Egypt. The Dutch efforts to enhance growth and distribution are geared towards improving the investment climate, support for private sector development, budget reform and water governance. These goals are implemented through projects such as reform of the rural development bank in the direction of providing more loans to small farmers, reinforcing the competitiveness of Egyptian exporters on the EU Market and assisting Egypt’s reform effort in the water sector.

To assist Egypt in achieving Millenium Development Goal 3 (equal rights and opportunities for women) The Netherlands supports programmes aimed at enhancing girls education, promoting women’s empowerment, and safeguarding the reproductive rights of girls and women. These themes are closely linked to the participation of Minister Koenders in the Conference on Millenium Development Goal 5 (reduction of maternal mortality) which takes place in Addis Ababa on October 26 and 27.

In the course of his two-day visit, Minister Koenders travelled on the first day to Fayoum governorate, where he visited a non-formal girls education project called ISHRAQ, Farmer Field Schools and a Water Users Organisation. The ISHRAQ programme aims to promote a healthy and active transition to adulthood for vulnerable adolescent girls between the ages of 12-15 in rural Upper Egypt, and to prepare them to make informed, positive decisions about life issues of schooling, marriage, and livelihoods. The Farmer Field Schools, a participatory, group-based form of extension, has proven to be an effective channel for imparting knowledge to farmers (male and female) on a variety of different subjects, both related to agriculture and non-agriculture issues such as reproductive health, civil rights and literacy. At the Water Users Organisation the Minister discussed with farmers the cooperation at a local level to reaching fair distribution and sustainable use of the available water sources.

During dinner the Minister meets opinion leaders, such as the lead author of the Fifth Arab Human Development Report and several human rights defenders to discuss developments in the area of political/civil and socio-economic rights.

On the second day, Minister Koenders meets his Egyptian counterpart, Mrs. Fayza Aboulnaga Minister of International Cooperation, to discuss the bilateral development programme and the broadenening of the bilateral relation between the Netherlands and Egypt.Parties will sign an important MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to enhance private sector initiatives through joint ventures that would contribute to fight poverty.

During a lunch with the Dutch and Egyptian Private Sector, the Minister will discuss food security in Egypt and the role of the private sector.

Thereafter, the Egyptian Minister of State for Family and Population, Ambassador Moushira Khattab, welcomes Minister Koenders to discuss a number of important issues, amongst which achievements since the International Conference on Population and Development, reproductive rights issues including the Egypt’s efforts to combat Female Genital Mutilation and population issues.

Find the  Arabic version of the press release.