Agribusiness trade opportunities in the context of the EU’s Green Deal and its Farm-to-Fork strategy

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Overview

Within Egypt’s position as the second largest recipient of EU FDI in the MENA region, and the largest non-EU supplier of horticultural products to Europe in 2024, with significant growth across multiple categories, the development of Egypt's EU strategic partnership agreement with the private sector calls for different programs and closer cooperation and knowledge sharing. The launch by the EU delegation of a series of workshops coupled with main agrifood events, such as Sahara Expo, aims at informing the Egyptian agrifood sector of the opportunities offered by the new EU programs as well as the challenges and opportunities to expand their cooperation, within a successful joint implementation of the EU’s ‘Farm-to-fork’ and Green Deal strategies. The workshop gathers the representatives of the EU in charge of the Agri, Food and Water Nexus, together with key representatives from the DFIs, and the leading agrifood professional organisations, to identify jointly the topics and needs to form the basis of forthcoming activities 

Location: Plaza, 1st floor

Date & Time: September 15th, from 10:00 AM to 4 :00 PM

Opening Ceremony

  • Mr. Nikolas Zaimis: Minister Counsellor, Head of the Trade, Science and Enterprise Section, The Delegation of the European Union to Egypt
  • Dr. Adel Abd Elazim: President, Agricultural Research Center (ARC)
  • Dr. Saad Moussa: Head of Foreign Agricultural Relations, Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation (MoLAR)

10:30 - 10:45

Session 1:   Growing with Europe: the role of the private sector in the EGYPT-EU Agriculture, Food and Water programs

  • Mr. Rene GORENFLO: Economic Counsellor, EU Delegation 
  • Mr. Tycho VERMEULEN: Agriculture Counsellor to Egypt and Jordan at the Dutch Embassy 
  • Mr. Jacopo Tavassi: Programme Coordinator, AICS/Agenzia Italiana per La Cooperazione Allo Sviluppo 
  • Ms. Iva STAMENOVA: Programme Manager on Agriculture and Health, Cooperation Section, Delegation of the European Union to Egypt
  • Ms. Ebe MUSCHIALLI, Programme Manager, UNIDO – EU “TIGARA"

Moderated by:

  • Mr. Christophe Malherbe: Deputy Team Leader, GOPA-AFC

 

10:45 - 11:30

Session 2: EU Funding tools for innovation, growth and sustainability

  • Mr. Tamer Taha: Private Sector Engagement Unit, Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation: HAFIZ platform
  • Mr. Guido Battista: Head of Cairo Office, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Italy
  • Ms. Elsa Faivre: Head of Unit for Agriculture, Rural Development and Sustainable Finance, Agence Française de Développement (AFD)
  • Mr. Mahmoud Abdel Halim: Director International Cooperation Central Sector, Medium, Small and Micro Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) 

Moderated by:

  • Mrs. Manar Nasr: Sustainability Expert, Former Sustainability Head, Agricultural Bank of Egypt

11:30 - 12:15

Session 3:  The Digital market for agriculture: Bashaier Agribusiness Digital Platform, and AGRINFO, the EU’s Agrifood Regulations Portal

  • Presented by: Mrs. Dorra Fiani, Founder and President, Knowledge Economy Foundation / Bashaier Platform

12:15 - 12:30

Coffee Break & Snacks 

12:15 - 12:45

Session 4: Egypt pathway to sustainable and resilient agriculture

  • Dr. Hala Abou Yousef: Acting Head of Agricultural Pesticides Committee, Ministry of Agriculture & Land Reclamation 
  • Dr. Mohamed Fahim: Director, Climate Change Information Center & Renewable Energy & Expert Systems, Agricultural Research Center 
  • Dr. Islam Abolela: Head of Phytosanitary Unit, Central Administration of Plant Quarantine, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation 
  • Prof. Dr. Atef Nassar: Professor of Water Management and Modern Irrigation, National Water Research Center (NWRC)
  • Eng. Adel El Shentenawy: Founder & CEO, Hydrofarms for Agri-Tech Solutions

Moderated by:

Dr. Waleed Ramadan: Senior Agriculture Advisor / GIZ, Head of Productivity & Climate Change Component, Agriculture Innovation Project

1:00 - 1:45

Session 5: From Farm to Market: Roadmap to European agrifood markets 

  • Mr. Nikolas Zaimis: Minister Counsellor, Head of the Trade, Science and Enterprise Section, The Delegation of the European Union to Egypt
  • Dr. Samar Shaarawi: Head of Department of Primary Supplier and Packing Houses Control, National Food Safety Authority (NFSA)
  • Mr. Abdel Hamid Demerdash: Member, Egyptian Parliament, Chairman, Agricultural Export Council
  • Eng. Ashraf El Gazayerli: Chairman, Chamber of Food Industries, and Executive Board Member, Unilever Mashreq, Egypt
  • Dr. Ashraf El-Sayed Hassan: Board Member, Food Export Council, and Chairman & CEO, NAMA`A Investments Holding
  • Mr. Mohsen El-Beltagy: Chairman, Horticultural Export Improvement Association (HEIA) and Vice President, Belco Co

Moderated by:

Mrs. Dorra Fiani: Founder and President, Knowledge Economy Foundation

1:45 - 2:45

Closing Session & Way Forward

Moderated by:

Ms. Iva STAMENOVA: Programme Manager on Agriculture and Health, Cooperation Section, Delegation of the European Union to Egypt

2:45 - 3:15

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