Egypt has a high potential for energy efficiency. Also, Egypt has very significant wind energy and abundant solar energy resources. The Government of Egypt is in 2008 defining the policy to tap these resources and safeguarding at the same time the affordable energy supply.

Energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) are priorities of German energy and climate policy and among the priorities of German development cooperation.

In view of this coincidence of objectives, the Governments of Egypt and Germany are aiming to expand their cooperation on these issues, which has already years ago started in the form of financing wind power.  Therefore Egypt and Germany have agreed in 2007 to establish an Egyptian-German High Level Joint Committee for cooperation on renewable energy and energy efficiency and environmental protection (JCEE). On October 30th, 2007 the two Governments signed a  Memorandum of Understanding, in which the mandate, objectives,  membership and organization were defined. 

The activities of JCEE started with meetings of the High Level Coordination and the Working Groups in May 2005.

This cooperation is supported by a bilateral technical cooperation project, under the same title, abbreviated JCEE.

The Joint Committee, abbreviated JCEE is a new form of a cooperation framework with a broad scope of  work for a sustainable energy future in Egypt through dissemination of renewable energy applications and energy efficiency technologies.  

The JCEE offers a platform for energy policy discussion, for developing initiatives for investment as well as institutional projects, awareness and capacity building activities and establishing contacts and exchange between the two countries. It has links to bilateral initiatives on renewable energy and energy efficiency and tries to activate synergies between them. 

This Joint Committee is supported by a bilateral technical cooperation project under the same title JCEE. This project is financed by the Ministry of Electricity and Energy of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and provides resources for the activities and operations of the JCEE.  The implementing partners of the cooperation are the New and Renewable Energy Authority (NREA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).

The participation in the decision making and preparation bodies of the Joint Committee is a contribution by the various members and organizations.