Brace for more Egyptian-Chinese cooperation: Chinese Premier Li Qiang wrapped up his two-day visit to Egypt on Thursday with high-level meetings and overseeing the signing of a handful of cooperation documents between the government and the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) — they include:

#1- An MoU on the first development cooperation strategy between the two sides from 2025-2029. The strategy aims to promote development cooperation in priority sectors — healthcare, connectivity, climate change and green development, digital economy, space, education, and industrial localization

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#2- A framework agreement for the first phase of a debt swap for development program, which activates a 2023 MoU. “Egypt is the first country with which CIDCA has entered into this kind of development financing agreement,” according to the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry.

AND- The two sides inked an exchange of letters for a CNY 1.5 mn (c. USD 212k) feasibility study grant for a project to set up a prosthetics system, an MoU boosting cooperation in human resource development — under which the Chinese side will train some 2k Egyptians — and an exchange of letters for a grant to set up a biosafety lab.

ALSO- The Central Bank of Egypt and the People's Bank of China inked an MoU to boost local currency use when it comes to settling cross-border transactions and exchange information and professional expertise in monetary policy, financial markets, electronic payment systems and more.

Addressing the trade imbalance: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly pointed to the need to address the trade imbalance between the two countries through opening the Chinese market to more Egyptian exports, he told Li during meeting that also included Investment Minister Hassan El Khatib, Planning Minister Rania Al Mashat, and Finance Minister Ahmed Kouchouk.

Madbouly expressed his hope for more cooperation between the two countries to localize Chinese industry, namely in solar energy project components, EVs, and seawater desalination.

Meanwhile, Li expressed the Chinese side’s desire to boost investment cooperation in renewables, industry, AI, and the digital economy, as well as deepen cooperation in the financial sector.

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