Egypt's Minister of Planning Rania Al-Mashat has held a meeting with UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) to discuss strengthening joint development cooperation. Talks focused on priorities under the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023–2027) and UNICEF's Country Programme Document, which supports government efforts to expand child services in health, nutrition, and development. The talks also touched on the preparation of the National Human Development Report. Egypt's Human Development Index (HDI) has improved steadily over the past two decades, advancing from the "medium" to the "high" category. In 2023, Egypt ranked 100th out of 193 countries, five places higher than in the 2021 assessment and above regional and global averages. They further highlighted Egypt's "Shabab Balad" youth initiative, efforts to localise Sustainable Development Goals through Egypt Vision 2030, and UNICEF's support for implementing the Integrated National Financing and Sustainability Strategy in collaboration with UNDP and ESCWA. Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English Subediting: M. S. Salama
