Berger lauds Egypt-EU action on green projects

Head of European Union delegation to Egypt Ambassador Christian Berger said that there is a sense of partnership between Egypt and the EU especially in fighting climate change, one of the top priorities of the EU delegation. He agreed that this event of COP27 is branding Egypt globally as Egypt also speaks for Africa.

Hosted by Nile TV International, on the sidelines of the activities of COP27 held in Sharm El Sheikh, he added that a composition of delegation is coming from the European Union including the president of the European Council. There are also four commissioners coming the next few days to speak with their Egyptian counterparts, he highlighted.

He assured that they are working on a number of important topics; first, energy and the cooperation on the development of renewable energy such as solar and wind, second the production and generation of the green hydrogen which is one of the top priorities of the EU, and third is water issues as considered a significant topic in COP27.

Ambassador Bergen hailed the long-term Egypt-EU partnership in different developmental projects of Egypt’s new republic and the environmental factor of going green projects. There is a good response in creating something new to the country especially in renewable energy whether solar and wind where the EU supported the construction of a wind farm in the Gulf of Suez, he stated, adding that it supports Egypt in order to become a hub for renewable energy development in the Middle East and Africa.

The main important file in COP27 is to reach the temperature goals and support the vulnerable communities, he declared. The EU supports developing communities and makes sure that the pledges made in the past have been fulfilled even if they were extended a little bit. The conference is a combination of governments, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations and private sectors to come together and support the most vulnerable communities, the ambassador remarked.

He believes that what we need for climate action is providing innovative solutions. We are going to build momentum on what is happening in COP27, he reassured, as there are many projects represented in the conference on development of new technology, on discussions, on risk prevention, on crisis management, etc. The private sector has to develop new ways of addressing such issues, he mentioned, saying that lots of presentations will be introduced in a commercial way to benefit many countries.

His Excellence added that the EU pays special attention to education as it leads to awareness. The EU had previously held a two-week event  on how to promote public transport and support the transportation means in Cairo and the tramline rehabilitation in  Alexandria and other practical projects that go hand in hand with the EU policies.

Moreover, Bergen underlined Egypt-EU keenness on training the youth as a promising future, thus young people have dedication and enthusiasm to address this issue. Illustrating, he pointed out that the EU provides technical vocational training for youth together with the government, in addition to the EU's close cooperation with Egyptian universities in the case of students and teachers exchange, and academic research.

He concluded that there is a second program called “Horizon Europe” based on a research and scientific program, referring that it is the biggest program in the EU in technology and hoping that many Egyptian institutions will take it.

This episode is presented by Nile TV Senior Correspondent Taghreed Hussein