Finland

General Framework

1. In Finland development co-operation is administered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Department for International Development Co-operation and the Regional Departments.
   
2. The General goals of Finland's development co-operation are to alleviate poverty, to combat global environmental threats, and to promote social equality, democracy and human rights. The goal of Finland's development aid in Egypt is to assist in carrying through its economic and social reforms, and to improve the state of environment. The means to achieve this goal are education and development of institutions and technical assistance.
   
3. Development co-operation with Egypt started in 1977. Traditional co-operation has been concentrating on energy, agriculture, water, health and mapping and the cultural sector. The recent emphasis has been put on the environmental co-operation (Egyptian Pollution Abatement Project, EPAP and Hazardous Management Plant Project in Alexandria). However, during the next six years Finland will be running down bilateral grant programmes and discussions were held with Egypt on a new transitional phase in the co-operation field. The new phase will focus on economic and commercial co-operation. During the new phase, anyhow, development co-operation will still continue but mainly on thematic bases.
   
4. General forms of Co-operation are Technical Assistance through projects and Programmes and also regional programmes (Cairo Hazardous Waste Information Center, meant for 10 Arabic speaking countries) with emphasis on sector support which means assistance directed at developing entire sector e.g. health care instead of individual projects. Other forms of co-operation include different credit systems: Finn Fund; Concessional Credits; Economic Industrial co-operation and Technological Co-operation Fund, EIT. And local fund and NGO co-operation.
   

In 2002 Bilateral Governmental Consultations were held between Egypt and Finland in Cairo with emphasis on transitional phase of co-operation. In 2002 two new projects started (Mental Health Project and Land Cadaster Project) and one additional project is in the pipeline (El Annania Waste Water Treatment Project).

Status of Ongoing Projects

Egyptian Antiquities Information System
Commitment: €2.4 million
Beneficiary: Supreme Council of Antiquities, The National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Sciences
Objectives: To preserve the Egyptian cultural heritage.

Regional Water and Sanitation Project
Commitment: €6 million
Beneficiary: Beni Suef Governorate
Objectives: Improvement of health and living conditions of the population of the project area.

Egyptian Cadastral Information Management System Project
Commitment: €7 million
Beneficiary: Egyptian Survey Authority
Objectives: Increased security in land ownership and transactions computerised land register.

Hazardous Waste Management Project in Alexandria
Commitment: €2 million
Beneficiary: Alexandria Governorate
Objectives: To establish a sustainable and environmentally acceptable hazardous waste management system.

Mental Health Programme in Egypt
Commitment: €800,000
Beneficiary: Ministry of Health and Population
Objectives: Improved mental welfare in Egypt.

Egypt-Finland Agricultural Research Project
Commitment: €5.2 million
Beneficiary: Ministry of Agriculture
Objectives: To improve efficiency of small scale farming in the newly reclaimed areas applying agricultural research on small-scale farming.