Egypt and the United States celebrated on Thursday the 100th anniversary of establishing their diplomatic ties.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Hafez underlined in a tweet Cairo’s keenness to bolster strategic ties with the US and between their peoples.
In a tweet, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he gifted Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry with the 1922 telegrams congratulating Egypt on its independence to mark the centennial strategic partnership between the two countries.
Separately, Minister of International Cooperation Rania al-Mashat held talks with the Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, on the sidelines of their participation in the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Mashat underscored the depth and importance of the more than four-decade bilateral economic relations, which resulted in the signing of development agreements and financing amounting to more than $30 billion, all of which contributed to supporting development efforts in key areas.
She said the agreements signed between the two countries since 2014 amount to about one billion dollars in various strategic sectors. These include basic education, higher education, health, and governance, as well as supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, tourism, and agriculture.
She further indicated that the continuous efforts for economic cooperation resulted in seven grant agreements worth $130 million in 2021.
The meeting comes in line with the strategic economic relations between Cairo and Washington, represented in the cooperation with the USAID, Mashat stated.
They discussed various joint development efforts and the implemented economic reforms in Egypt, as well as the climate action efforts, women empowerment, and civil society organizations.
Mashat referred to the ongoing talks between the two sides in light of the continuous economic ties and the agreements expected to be signed this year.
In 2021, the trade exchange between the two countries amounted to more than eight billion dollars, while US investments in Egypt amount to more than $24 billion.