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Egypt to Mobilize Funding ‘Green Banks’ Ahead of COP 27 Summit

Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
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Egypt to Mobilize Funding ‘Green Banks’ Ahead of COP 27 Summit

Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy
Egyptian Minister for International Cooperation, Rania al-Mashat speaks during an interview with Reuters in Cairo, Egypt January 24, 2021. REUTERS/Sherif Fahmy

Egypt has intensified efforts to mobilize financing for "green banks," in preparation for the COP27 Climate Summit, which it will host in Sharm el-Sheikh in late 2022.

Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat said that innovative financing tools are a catalyst to ensure that the international community’s commitments made at COP26 in Glasgow are implemented ahead of the next summit.

Mashat underscored the importance of bolstering multilateral cooperation to advance the main areas of action to achieve the green transition, namely, mitigation and adaptation projects to climate change, technology transfer, expertise and financing.

She made her remarks at the opening speech at the Green Banks Event “A Green Finance Facilities Ecosystem: A Three Trillion Dollars Opportunity for Africa,” which is organized by the African Development Bank as part of the Middle East and North Africa Climate Week 2022, held in Dubai, UAE.

The minister pointed to Egypt’s steps to advance national efforts and enhance regional and international action to consolidate the climate concepts, preserve the environment, and implement clear and ambitious plans for climate financing through an international framework for innovative financing.

She underlined the international financial institutions’ need to expand climate finance based on various pillars related to inclusion and justice, to ensure that the whole world, particularly the developing and emerging countries, can benefit from climate financing and green investments.

Mashat said all stakeholders, including women, youth and the private sector, shall participate in developing climate action plans and financing eco-friendly projects through innovative financing solutions, risk reduction tools and blended financing.

She pointed to the successive measures taken by the Egyptian government to promote green investments and push towards a green economy.

These include decisions to increase green public investments from 15% in the current fiscal year to 30% in the next fiscal year, followed by a 50% increase in 2024/2025.

In 2021, Egypt secured the first green financing from international and regional banks worth $1.5 billion, directed to finance eco-friendly projects such as water treatment and desalination plants, solid waste management, canal lining, and seawater desalination.

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Three Algerians Charged in Kidnapping of Opposition Figure in France

Amir Boukhors (social media)
Amir Boukhors (social media)
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Three Algerians Charged in Kidnapping of Opposition Figure in France

Amir Boukhors (social media)
Amir Boukhors (social media)

Three men, including an employee at the Algerian consulate in France, were indicted in Paris on suspicion of involvement in the April 2024 kidnapping of Amir Boukhors, an opponent of the Algerian regime, judicial sources told AFP on Saturday.

The three men were charged Friday in Paris with kidnapping and unlawful detention in relation to a terrorist organization, as well as participation in a criminal terrorist conspiracy, according to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT).

Later, a French judge ruled that all three be placed in pre-trial detention.

One of the suspects works for an Algerian consulate in France. While he holds a service passport rather than a diplomatic one, the issue of diplomatic immunity is expected to be addressed during the proceedings, a source close to the case told AFP.

Boukhors, a well-known critic of the Algerian regime, had previously survived two serious attacks — one in 2022 and another on the evening of April 29, 2024, according to his lawyer, Eric Plouvier.

The kidnapping, which initially fell under the jurisdiction of the Créteil prosecutor’s office, was later taken over by PNAT in February 2025.

“This shift to an anti-terror investigation shows that a foreign power, Algeria, did not hesitate to carry out violent acts on French soil — acts of intimidation and terror that threaten lives,” Plouvier said, calling the case a “state affair.”

Neither of the suspects’ attorneys responded to AFP requests for comment.

Boukhors’ name also surfaced in a separate probe by the Paris prosecutor’s office.

In that case, a French Economy Ministry employee was indicted in December for allegedly providing confidential information about Algerian dissidents — including Boukhors — to an Algerian national working at the Algerian consulate in Créteil.

According to sources, some of the individuals targeted in that investigation later became victims of violence, death threats, or abduction attempts.

The latest developments between the two countries coincided with the statements of French President Emmanuel Macron, who said last Friday he is “confident” on the release of French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal, sentenced to five years in prison in Algeria.

Sansal’s case is under “special attention” by Algerian authorities, Macron commented during a visit to the Paris Book Festival, adding that the evolution of the case makes him confident that the writer would soon be released.

“I am confident because I know that there is particular attention. I am simply waiting for the results,” Macron said.

He added, “Our strongest wish is for the Algerian authorities to make the decision that will allow him to regain his freedom, receive treatment, and return to writing.”

Observers believe that the decision to charge the three Algerian men in France would disrupt the fresh efforts to revive bilateral relations between Paris and Algiers, particularly following the March 31 phone call between Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who voiced their willingness to repair relations and after French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said last week that ties with Algeria were back to normal.