Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Hala El-Said, launched a national consultation session on Egypt's commitments to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Monday. The session is a preparation for Egypt's participation in the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (2023 SDG Summit), which will take place on 18 and 19 September 2023 at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The session was attended by Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women (NCW); Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development; Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt; and several other officials. El-Said said that the session aims to create a dialogue platform between the ministry and various stakeholders to discuss the challenges and solutions for achieving the SDGs in Egypt. She also said that the session aims to showcase Egypt's leading role at the international and regional level on sustainable issues. El-Said pointed out that the world is facing unprecedented economic and geopolitical changes and challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises. She said that these challenges have affected the global economic indicators and caused international institutions to lower their growth forecasts. She also said that these challenges have hindered the efforts of countries and governments to achieve the SDGs, especially by deepening the development finance gap in developing countries and forcing them to rearrange their priorities. Regarding Egypt's efforts to achieve sustainable development in light of these challenges, El-Said noted that Egypt has tried to overcome these obstacles and accelerate its development process by launching and implementing several national development initiatives and strategic projects, especially the Haya Karima initiative. She also said that Egypt has implemented the first phase of the National Economic and Social Reform Program since November 2016, and will continue to implement the second phase of the National Restructuring Program launched in April 2021. El-Said also mentioned that in October 2022, Egypt adopted a document on "state ownership policy", which clarifies the role of the state as a regulator of market mechanisms in various economic sectors and how the state withdraws from its activities.
