CAIRO: Egypt participated in two forums on sustainable development, the first at the UN headquarters in New York and the other in Indonesia.
It was represented at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2022 in New York by Hala Al-Saeed, the Egyptian minister of planning and economic development.
During one of the forum’s sessions, Al-Saeed reviewed the Egyptian experience in facing the repercussions of COVID-19 and noted the conditions the world was witnessing amid the pandemic, in addition to the current international scene of uncertainty and turmoil in economic activities, saying they had significant implications for countries.
She explained the importance of such discussions to enhance regional and international cooperation on benefiting from knowledge and exchanging best practices for poverty eradication and sustainable development.
She stated Egypt’s keenness to share its successful experience in achieving Sustainable Development Goals, saying the government was working hard on evaluating how to implement its Vision 2030 and speed up its realization.
Al-Saeed told the forum that Egypt had launched the second phase of its Decent Life initiative, the largest development project aimed at creating sustainable rural communities with the participation of all stakeholders.
She said the initiative aimed to improve the standard of living in Egypt’s poorest rural villages by reducing poverty rates and unemployment, and improving the general quality of life.
Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat participated, via video, in the Sustainable Development Forum held by Indonesia in her capacity as the current G20 chair to launch the Global Blended Finance Alliance to push the transition toward renewable energy and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Al-Mashat said that Egypt, through its presidency of the UN Climate Change Conference COP27, was committed to accelerating the pace of climate action at the levels of energy transition and adaptation, supporting countries' ability to withstand climate change, and pushing the international community to move from climate pledges to implementation.
She added that, through joint initiatives and cooperation, it was possible to share knowledge, expertise, and experience, coordinate efforts to stimulate climate action globally and enhance efforts to achieve sustainable development.
Al-Mashat stressed the importance of benefiting from Egypt's presidency of COP27 and Indonesia's G20 presidency in promoting the process of exchanging knowledge and experience between countries of the global south and accelerating the pace of movement in encouraging international financial institutions and capitals to contribute effectively to achieving development in developing countries and emerging economies.
