4 March 2025 – Cairo

The first meeting of the Network-You project in Egypt - an initiative run in the framework of the MPF Programme, funded by the European Union through ICMPD - took place in Cairo at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Antonio Spera from Confcooperative Puglia and Daniela Palermo from CIHEAM Bari, lead partner and co-applicant respectively, introduced the three-year initiative focused on designing and developing a pilot programme for circular mobility between Italy and Egypt.

A total of 150 young Egyptians have been selected and will be trained as part of the project. Of these, 100 will embark on a training internship with companies in Puglia that are members of the Confcooperative Puglia network, already active in the Green Sector, the key focus of the initiative

The meeting was attended by a large interministerial delegation, including representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Solidarity and Welfare, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Higher Education and Universities, as well as CEEBA (the Confederation of Egyptian and European Business Associations), the operational partner in Egypt.

The initiative has sparked considerable interest, being both ambitious in its scope and groundbreaking in its approach. It seeks to outline an actionable plan that can be implemented in the short term, acting as a catalyst for development in both countries, with the potential to be upscaled and replicated sustainably, in future initiatives with Egypt and beyond.