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OUR GOAL: TO CONVERT DEBT IN DEVELOPMENT
A partnership model
to inspire international cooperation
A successful story
 The
Debt Swap represent a tool able to both reduce the foreign debt of a
country and register a positive impact on the socio-economic
development and poverty alleviation in the area, through the promotion
of activities in several Development National Plan key sectors. The
mechanism works as a transaction in which the creditor country
Government withdraw part of the foreign debt of a debtor country,
receiving a commitment of that country Government to invest the same
amount of money in identified initiatives.
Thanks to an
Agreement signed in June 2007 for an amount of $ 100 million, the
Italian-Egyptian Debt for Development Swap Program is now in its second
phase. The Program is rooted in a strong sense of ownership and in a
real partnership, expressed by an equal approach rather than a
donor-recipient relationship. Dialogue and debate become, therefore, the
most relevant decision and operational tools.
In order to identify effective solutions, transfer knowledge and
actively involve the beneficiaries, a constant commitment is assured in
both traditional and innovative fields. The strategy adopted in the
framework of the Program draws the attention of the Egyptian Government
on new sectors, such as the application of Information and Communication
Technology to rural development, environment and water resources
management; and on crucial issues, such as women and children’s rights
protection. The Program, not only ensure the contribution of further
Donors and the commitment of considerable national resources, but also
allow the establishment of new and fruitful partnerships between
national and international organizations, as well as with governmental
institutions and non-governmental organizations.
The considerable financial resources, gradually credited in a
Counterpart Fund dedicated to the Program, are used for the
implementation of projects identified on the basis of shared guidelines
and principles aiming at promoting sustainable socio-economic
development in Egypt. The guidelines, in line with the benchmarks of the
overall reform recently launched by the Egyptian Government and with the
priorities integrated in the Sixth Five-Year National Plan 2007-2012,
have been included in the Joint Declaration on Debt for Development Swap
Program signed on May 12, 2009.
 In
order to reach both regional and international
social and economic integration, the involved actors defined different
priorities. In particular, the attention is focused on:
-
the development
of human resources;
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industry modernization in high social impact areas
and the introduction of "clean" technology;
-
increasing and improvement
of production, logistics and export of agricultural products;
environment protection;
-
and social development in support of
disadvantaged and vulnerable groups.
 Furthermore, Italy offers to all sectors an added
value in terms of transfer of skills, know-how and technologies, through
the involvement of academic institutions and Italian centers of
excellence with a sound experience.
The several projects currently approved and on-going, present the second
phase of the Program as a tool of consolidation of the strategic
partnership existing between and Egypt in several fields and areas.
Furthermore, the importance of the Program for funding development
initiatives was
reiterated in several occasions, finally during the Third bilateral
Summit held in Rome in May 2010. |
