Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held a meeting with Vera Songwe — the UN's Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNECA — on Tuesday to discuss opportunities to identify priorities for addressing climate change in Africa. The meeting is part of Vera Songwe's official mission to Cairo to participate in discussions around the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) that will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh this November with government officials and other stakeholders. In the face of Africa's many common and overlapping challenges, the meeting assessed the prospects of strengthening South-South and triangular cooperation to diversify the range of modalities for the exchange of development solutions. This is in line with the African Union's commitment to transform the African agriculture sector and end hunger in Africa by 2025 as well as promote climate resilient economies. Al-Mashat said that her ministry is working on drafting a guidebook that incorporates the pillars of the international framework for adopting innovative climate financing with transparency, inclusion, and justice at the core. She noted that the ministry's vision for South-South and triangular cooperation will also be realized through the South-South Development Academy in Egypt, which will capitalise on Egypt's leading role in exchanging expertise and sharing success stories with developing and emerging economies and identify development priorities that will need additional attention and financing. The ministry is also preparing to launch the 'Just Financing Initiative' during the COP 27 in close collaboration with the Ministry of Environment of Egypt, bilateral and multilateral development partners, the UN, international financing institutions (IFIs), and the private sector. The initiative aims to develop an international financing framework for innovative climate finance based on the concepts of inclusion, equity, and justice centred around distributive justice, procedural justice, and recognition (which entails basic respect and robust engagement with and fair consideration of diverse cultures and perspectives). As per the COP 26 and the road to net-zero by 2050, Songwe delivered a keynote speech at Egypt's first International Cooperation Forum (ICF) where she emphasised the need for a framework for Africa to realise the just-transition modalities to achieve a green and resilient economy. The Ministry of International Cooperation and the UN office in Egypt launched a transparent process of consultations to prepare the new Egypt-UN Cooperation Framework for 2023-2027, including a standalone outcome focused on enhancing climate resilience and the efficiency of natural resource management. The consultation process witnessed the engagement of over 32 national institutions and 28 UN agencies as well as civil society organisations and the private sector.
