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General Mahmoud Sharawi, minister of local development, held a meeting with Mrs. Ala al-Zohiri, an official  of government relations at the United Nations world food programme in Cairo, in the presence of a number of ministry leaders.
The meeting showed how the ministry and the programme could cooperate in carrying out urgent interventions to support the most needy families in the governorates, improve their living conditions and provide assistance to them in reducing poverty and helping them in their daily lives in order to mitigate the effects on certain groups affected by the measures taken by the state to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus. In the frame of economic and social development programmes undertaken by the ministry in the governorates, particularly the local development programme in upper Egypt or the presidential initiative "Haya kareema ".
General Mahmoud Sharawi said that the ministry is endeavoring with all its international partners and donors to cooperate with it in certain projects to undertake some rapid interventions to help families in the most needy villages in the governorates during the current period, Sharawi referred to the cooperation of the ministry with the world bank in the framework of the upper Egypt programme at Quena and Sohag.
The meeting also showed the possibilities for joint cooperation, supported by the ministry's local development fund, to alleviate small borrowers and beneficiaries who have recently been unable to repay because of the consequences of state action with regard to the coronavirus and to find an additional amount of money to manage the fund's portfolio that provides microcredit to rural women heads of household and lower income groups.
Major general Mahmoud Sharawi stressed the importance of his joint meeting last march with resident representative, Mungstap Haile, and director of the WFP Cairo office, and Dr. Mohammed Badr, chief political adviser for WFP strategic planning in Rome to identify areas of collaboration.
The meeting also examined cooperation in the debt swap programme implemented with the government of Germany in view of the support provided to the world food programme at its adoption and cooperation in grants from international partners to address the consequences of the novel coronavirus. Sharawi said that the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the ministry and the programme will be studied during the next perieod in order to strengthen cooperation between the two sides in each governorate.
Zohiri expressed the determination of the world programme to provide support for all programmes and projects undertaken by the ministry and praised minister Mahmoud Sharawi's support for the work of the programme in all governorates.
Ala al-zohiri  praised the package of actions and decisions taken by the political leadership and the government of Egypt to protect irregular workers and foster families in all governorates as well as procedures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
The WFP government relations officer also presented during the meeting fields of cooperation between WFP and the ministries of manpower, social solidarity, education and education in the current period, particularly to support some of the families affected by the coronavirus.

Translated by : Hanaa Mohamed Saleh