Dr. Sayed Ismail, Deputy Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities, met with Ms. Radmila Labus, representative of the The German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses, and her accompanying delegation, Invest-Gate reports.

This delegation included representatives from the European Commission, the European Water Association, the Economic Office at the Italian Embassy, and The German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GACIC).

The meeting aimed to discuss aspects of cooperation and the exchange of expertise in the utilities sector, with representatives from the Project Management Unit at the Ministry of Housing also present.

This meeting is part of the Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities’ efforts to support local and international private sector companies involved in drinking water and sanitation projects to enhance the quality of services provided to citizens.

Ismail explained that the Ministry is actively working to support and encourage both local and international investors, in line with the guidelines outlined in the State Ownership Policy Document. This is particularly relevant in the fields of seawater desalination, sludge management, and efforts to localize industry in Egypt.

He pointed out that the public-private partnership action plan outlines priorities for drinking water and sanitation projects over the next five years, aligned with the sector strategy extending to 2050.

Additionally, the utilities sector is focused on three main pillars: comprehensive coverage of drinking water and sanitation services, improving the performance of service providers based on key performance indicators covering institutional, technical, financial, and citizen engagement areas, and creating an enabling environment for governance of the sector and its affiliated entities.

Furthermore, Ismail directed the establishment of a partnership platform in the field of drinking water and sanitation, the “Egypt Water Partnership Platform,” to enhance ongoing coordination and support partnership between the public and private sectors. He emphasized his commitment to following up on coordination efforts between the Project Management Unit officials and the European delegation in preparation for the International Water, Waste & Infrastructure Conference (IWWI), scheduled for November 2025.

For their part, the European delegation reviewed several aspects of cooperation aimed at establishing partnerships between Egyptian investors and their counterparts from Germany, Italy, and the European Union in the field of drinking water and sanitation. The Project Management Unit team also presented a briefing on priority project opportunities for public-private partnerships over the next five years.