Dr. Mohamed Farid:
- Transforming the agricultural sector into an export-oriented, globally competitive sector
- Training and equipping farmers to meet international market standards
- Attracting investments across agricultural value chains
Alvaro Lario:
- Expressed readiness to support Egypt’s priorities and reorient resources toward financial inclusion and agribusiness development
During a meeting in Washington, D.C., Dr. Mohamed Farid Saleh, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, held discussions with Mr. Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), on ways to strengthen cooperation and follow up on ongoing projects. The meeting took place within the framework of the State’s strategy to increase agricultural exports, enhance food security, and address export constraints through projects aimed at ensuring full compliance of agricultural products with international standards.
The Minister underscored the importance of developing the agricultural sector as a key pillar of the national economy, with a focus on training and upskilling smallholder farmers in line with the latest production and packaging practices, in cooperation with export councils. This, he noted, would facilitate access to global markets and support the transformation of the agricultural sector into a competitive export-driven sector, while attracting investments across value chains.
Both sides also reviewed developments related to the “CROWN” project, emphasizing the importance of expediting its approval procedures to ensure continuity of implementation. The discussions further addressed opportunities to enhance value chains and reduce imports.
For his part, Mr. Alvaro Lario commended the partnership with Egypt and reaffirmed IFAD’s commitment to supporting Egypt’s priorities, including reorienting resources toward agricultural reforms and strengthening the role of the private sector to achieve sustainable development.
