Malta Government Investments (MGI), the Sovereign Fund of Egypt and Bpifrance, a French national investment bank signed an agreement to establish the “European, Middle East and North Africa Sovereign Wealth Funds Foundation” in Malta, according to a statement by Egypt’s Sovereign Fund on Thursday.
The Foundation aims to lay the basis for a Mediterranean collaboration network between the countries of the Mediterranean Basin region.
It further seeks to serve as a regional platform for members to meet and exchange experiences and available information on investment opportunities to achieve national and sustainable economic development goals in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
The network aims to crowd in sovereign fund-backed capital that will help unlock significant private investment flows to de-risk and fund projects or companies in the EMENA area that has an investment funding gap of $700-900 billion, with a special focus on green technology, sustainable development, SMEs and innovation.
The signing, which took place on March 24, was attended by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry for Economy and Industry (Malta), ambassadors for Egypt, France, Spain, and the Chairman of MGI. CEOs, Managing Directors and high level delegations from Ithmar Capital (Morocco), Kuwait Investment Authority, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Italy), Standard Chartered and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) also attended.
Senior officials from the European Investment Bank and the Oman Investment Authority also participated in a two-day summit that was held in Malta at the time.
Ayman Soliman, CEO of the Sovereign Fund of Egypt said: “TSFE’s collaboration with MGI, Bpifrance and COFIDES in establishing the EMENA SWF Foundation emphasizes the fund’s commitment to unlocking the investment potential in Egypt by creating long-term investment partnerships with investors and sovereign wealth funds in the region.”
“Malta Government Investments is very proud to have led in the past two years the setting up of the EMENA (Europe Middle East North Africa) Sovereign Wealth Funds Collaborative Network together with Bpifrance and the Sovereign Fund of Egypt,” said Herald Bonnici, CEO of MGI.
“The EMENA SWF Foundation, based in Malta, is a network of sovereign funds in the region that will discuss and share co-investment opportunities,” he added.
Executive Director of Bpifrance Pascal Lagarde said the agreement marks the beginning of new cooperation between institutions in the EMENA region, the idea of which emerged on the occasion of the 2019 Med 7 Summit in Malta, where the concept of a platform for regional cooperation was discussed between France and Malta.
“For Bpifrance, the EMENA SWF Collaborative Network is an opportunity to bolster its action in the Mediterranean region, favor the economic development of its neighboring countries and generate business opportunities for French companies in the area.”
