Sunday 02/November/2025 – 10:51 AM
Engineer Margaret Sarofim, Deputy Minister of Social Solidarity, received Holger Ehle, Head of German Development Cooperation at the German Embassy in Cairo, and Engineer Adham Kassab, Director of the Equal Opportunities and Social Development Project (EOSD) at the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), and their accompanying delegation, in the presence of Dr. Magdy Helmy, Advisor to the Ministry of Social Solidarity for Positive Education.
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The meeting reviewed the areas of existing cooperation between the Ministry of Solidarity and the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), and discussed ways to enhance aspects of future cooperation in a number of joint work files, in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the Ministry’s work priorities in the areas of social protection, economic empowerment, people with disabilities, and the welfare economy.
Sarofim praised the fruitful development that the partnership and cooperation relations with GIZ are witnessing, especially through the Equal Opportunities and Social Development Project, which has been implemented since 2021 in cooperation between the two sides, and focuses on economic empowerment programs for youth, especially women and people with disabilities, and includes several main axes, namely strengthening the capabilities of state actors to encourage community participation, capacity building, youth empowerment, and awareness of positive health and equality, in addition to enhancing cooperation between the state and civil society organizations through implementing joint projects and organizing Awareness campaigns targeting youth, as well as improving the inclusion of persons with disabilities through digital technology and an equity-based social protection component.
The meeting discussed the Ministry’s future work priorities, through integrating the social protection sector and economic empowerment programs in support of vulnerable families, with an emphasis on developing sustainable models and enhancing impact measurement mechanisms to ensure the effectiveness of development programs.
Opportunities for cooperation in the field of early childhood development were also discussed, which is one of the ministry’s priority areas of work, as work is underway to develop nurseries, raise the efficiency of facilitators, and expand the scope of mechanization, in preparation for announcing the results of the comprehensive national inventory of nurseries, which will form a strategic database for the development of this vital sector.
The Deputy Minister of Solidarity indicated that the next stage will witness an expansion of cooperation to support the capabilities of civil society institutions, within the framework of a long-term vision aimed at strengthening its role as a major partner in achieving sustainable development.
Prospects for cooperation were also discussed within the framework of the care economy system through programs for persons with disabilities and programs for caring for the elderly.
The meeting also discussed cooperation in the field of institutional capacity building within the Ministry, and discussed cooperation mechanisms through the “Mawaddah” program, especially with the preparations to launch a new initiative under the umbrella of the program, which is Mawaddah Participatory Education during the coming period.
For his part, Holger Ihle appreciated the existing cooperation between the Ministry of Social Solidarity and the German government through GIZ, stressing that the meeting represented an important opportunity to discuss prospects for joint work and strengthen the future partnership in accordance with the Egyptian state’s priorities and its vision for comprehensive development.
