By
Marwa Nassar
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Switzerland has bankrolled several sustainable development projects in the Upper Egypt governorate of Aswan and the two sides are scheduled to sign a new cooperation protocol by the end of May to implement a drinking water project in eastern Aswan at a total cost of EGP 129 million.
Aswan Governor Ahmed Ibrahim made the remarks at a ceremony marking the conclusion of an Egyptian-Swiss training program of Lake Nasser fishermen. This program has been the cornerstone for a bill on fish-farming and lake development due to be reviewed by the Egyptian parliament soon.
After the ceremony, Ibrahim convened with Petra Widmer, the Deputy Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, to review cooperation in other development projects.
He underlined the importance of continued cooperation with Switzerland in the coming period to accomplish more development projects.
Petra Widmer, the Deputy Director of the Swiss Cooperation Office, said about 1976 fishermen, fishfarmers and fish sellers benefited from the training program which started in July 2017 and ended in December 2018.
The program aimed at improving people’s standards of living and boosting the lake’s fish production in line with the 2020-2030 Egyptian development vision, she said, adding that the project also contributed to implementing an all-out plan for improving fish-processing and fisheries management in Lake Nasser.
The conclusion of the training program coincides also with the conclusion of a project launched by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in January 2013 and is due to end on May 31, 2019.
The SDC project in rural Aswan governorate in Egypt was meant to improve the economic prospects of local young men and women. The SDC promotes enterprises in the agricultural, livestock breeding and fisheries sectors to create new jobs and provide young people with an alternative to migrating to urban centers.
The project aimed at labor market development, agriculture value-chain development and vocational training and skills development.
The aim of the project is to provide young women and men under 40 living in rural Aswan governorate with jobs, a higher and long-term income, and to motivate young people to stay in the region and not move to urban centers. The SDC is promoting a sustainable economic upswing to benefit all and working to expand the local job market. According to an analysis carried out as part of the project, the agricultural sector has large growth potential.
The project officers have estimate that 2,500 young people will achieve a higher income and 4,000 new jobs will be created. As the families of these young people will also benefit from this upswing indirectly, approximately 30,000 people will be able to improve their livelihoods.
The project focuses on processing chains in small industry. Producing vegetable oils, drying tomatoes and fish salting was planned to be professionalized.
In addition, the project contributes to improving conditions of farmers, livestock breeders, and people working in the fisheries sector.
The SDC works with cooperatives and NGOs as well as with microfinance institutions. The SDC’s contract partner in this project is the organisation CARE International Egypt that works under contract with WorldFish. WorldFish is already a partner of Switzerland.
Switzerland is very active in the remote and disadvantaged Aswan لovernorate. In addition to the economy and youth employment, Switzerland is active in improving the quality of drinking water and reducing water consumption.
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