Pandemic ‘negatively affected’ Egypt’s Vision 2030, official warns

Abd-elrahman Nasef, 31, checks the plants in his aquaponic farm, which recycles water in fish tanks to grow vegetables, in Cairo, Egypt June 30, 2021. (REUTERS)
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  • Kamali said that Egypt’s modernization process is being achieved through an approach that includes consultations with all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, the private sector, academics and others

CAIRO: Egypt’s Vision 2030 has been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, the country’s deputy minister of planning and economic development has warned.

Ahmed Kamali said that the emergence of the pandemic imposed negative social and economic repercussions, and new challenges on the Egyptian economy, including the need to transition to green development.

He added that the objective of modernization plans is to align Egypt’s Vision 2030 with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063, in addition to keeping pace with global and regional changes.

Among the important issues that have been added to the updated version of the vision are that of water scarcity and population growth, he said.

Kamali said that Egypt’s modernization process is being achieved through an approach that includes consultations with all stakeholders, including the government, civil society, the private sector, academics and others.

The deputy minister said that the first step in this regard focuses on identifying gaps in the economic, social and environmental aspects through research papers that have been drawn up in each ministry and government agency.

The second step includes groups of task forces and specialized experts working on partial reports for each identified gap, while the third step includes the compilation of these reports and research papers.

Kamali added that the fourth step includes a series of consultative sessions with representatives of the government, private sector, civil society and academics to discuss the required targets.

The deputy minister also discussed the strategic goals of improving the quality of life for citizens, achieving social justice and equality, access to an integrated and sustainable environmental system, and access to competitive and diversified knowledge.

He said that the tools used to accelerate the achievement of the previous strategic objectives include controlling population growth, relying on supportive cultural values, improving the availability of information and environmental legislation, achieving digital transformation and promoting technology and innovation.