Egypt's Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, met with Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, on the sidelines of the 43rd World Scout Conference. The meeting focused on joint efforts to advance sustainable development in Egypt. Al-Mashat welcomed Mohammed, highlighting the significance of the World Scout Conference being held in Egypt and the global scouting movement's role in developing young people. Mohammed congratulated Al-Mashat on her appointment and noted the UN's commitment to strengthening collaborative efforts with Egypt in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The meeting included discussions on the "Summit of the Future", scheduled for September 2024 alongside the 79th UN General Assembly, and Egypt's efforts in achieving the SDGs. Al-Mashat briefed Mohammed on the ministry's work following the recent merger of the Planning and International Cooperation ministries and the progress in implementing the Egypt – United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework Agreement (UNSDCF 2023-2027). Al-Mashat discussed the "Summit of the Future," explaining that it aligns with the Egyptian government's ambitious program for a new approach to evidence-based policymaking and comprehensive development. The approach reflects the political leadership's vision of sustainable development, fair development finance, and inclusive and sustainable human, economic, and social development. The conversation also addressed the high-level side event at the Summit of the Future titled "Leveraging Innovative Financing Tools to Accelerate Sustainable Development: A Roadmap for Just Development Finance." Al-Mashat discussed Egypt's efforts in launching the Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing during COP27 in November 2022, in partnership with several international organizations and entities. The Minister also emphasized that the guidebook aims to promote just financing principles and define the roles and responsibilities of all relevant entities to stimulate developing countries and emerging economies to attract environmentally friendly investments, particularly through private sector projects. The meeting also reviewed Egypt's Country Platform for the NWFE Program, which represents a practical application of just financing principles and serves as an effective regional model and approach for concessional financing addressing adaptation, mitigation, and resilience issues. This involves 20 development partners, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the World Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the United States, Germany, France, and others. Al-Mashat stressed the importance of fostering effective development partnerships and involving the private sector in achieving sustainable development. She highlighted the need to adopt innovative economic models and just and effective development financing systems to restructure the global financial system. The Minister also pointed out the significance of country platforms in enhancing development and climate action, citing the joint statement by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group on the importance of such platforms as one of the mechanisms for reforming the multilateral development bank system. Al-Mashat emphasized that the NWFE program is a practical model of these platforms and reflects Egypt's significant progress in development and climate action efforts. The meeting addressed the ministry's efforts in launching the national version of the UN initiative "Generation Unlimited" under the name "Shabab Balad" to implement development projects in partnership with the private sector, international development partners, civil society organizations and youth. The discussion further looked into the SDGs, Egypt Vision 2030, and integrating their governing principles into local development planning and national strategies with development partners. It was noted that Egypt had submitted Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) in 2016, 2018, and 2021, and invested efforts to localize the SDGs in each governorate, with 27 reports released in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 2021. These reports track progress towards achieving the SDGs across different governorates, with the second edition of the reports being prepared in coordination with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics and expected to be released in the near future. Al-Mashat outlined that the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation has completed the formulation of the Egypt Integrated National Financing Framework (E-INFF). This framework aims to enhance planning processes and financing for SDGs on the national level, identify the full scope of domestic and international financing sources, and enable countries to achieve sustainable development priorities. The ministry plans to launch this framework soon.
Also on the sidelines of the conference,Kevin Frey, CEO of UN Global Initiative Generation Unlimited (GenU), announced the selection of Al-Mashat to join the initiative's board, among a list of global economic leaders and executive management officials from major private sector institutions.
