Kouchouk emphasized Egypt’s support for expanding guarantees, blended risk structures, and hedging instruments to mobilize private capital, as well as for redirecting Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through multilateral development banks to lower financing costs and extend maturities.

Egypt’s Minister of Finance, Ahmed Kouchouk, affirmed that climate finance must become more equitable for emerging economies and more consistent with national development priorities. He emphasized Egypt’s support for expanding guarantees, blended risk structures, and hedging instruments to mobilize private capital, as well as for redirecting Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) through multilateral development banks to lower financing costs and extend maturities.

 

Speaking at the Finance Ministers’ Meeting for the Climate Conference in Brazil, Kouchouk stressed the importance of leveraging the capacity of multilateral development banks to attract private investments and provide the necessary support for climate projects. He underscored that reducing the cost of green finance for climate-resilient infrastructure investments is essential to bridge the global financing gap.

 

Kouchouk added that Egypt also supports expanding debt-for-climate, debt-for-development, and debt-for-investment swaps in developing and emerging economies. He called for addressing debt and development together, and for introducing automatic temporary suspension of debt service following major climate shocks.

 

He emphasized that Egypt is working hard to implement solutions linking climate action with inclusive growth and social considerations, noting that no single country can bear the high costs of climate transition alone, especially amid rising global debt levels. Egypt, he affirmed, stands ready to continue working closely with international partners, multilateral development banks, and the private sector to advance the green transition agenda.

 

Kouchouk pointed to the need for reforming the global financial architecture and sharing risks among multilateral development banks. He highlighted that Egypt has taken bold steps to integrate climate priorities into its fiscal and economic policies, including:

• Updating the Sustainable Sovereign Financing Framework,

• Issuing the first sovereign green bond in the Middle East and North Africa,

• Launching Africa’s first voluntary carbon market to mobilize mitigation efforts, and

• Establishing the “NWFE” platform to align national investment priorities and coordinate the engagement of multilateral development banks.

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He also noted Egypt’s ongoing efforts to boost public-private partnerships in renewable energy, water desalination, sustainable transport, and waste management, mobilizing private capital and technology while maintaining fiscal sustainability.

 

Kouchouk concluded by emphasizing that Egypt’s strong expansion in renewable electricity generation reflects the country’s growing ability to attract private investment in support of its climate and emissions reduction agenda.