Egypt's Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, met with Swedish Ambassador to Cairo, Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, to explore opportunities for strengthening bilateral cooperation on green transition efforts and climate change mitigation. The meeting was attended by Raouf Saad, Advisor to the Minister on Multilateral Agreements; Soha Taher, Head of the Central Department for International Cooperation and Climate Change; and Environmental Affairs Counselor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Taghreed El-Gohary. Fouad praised the longstanding environmental partnership between Egypt and Sweden, expressing her ambition to deepen this cooperation in light of growing global challenges to sustainability. She reaffirmed Egypt's commitment to achieving a green transition despite economic and structural hurdles, highlighting that environmental policy now holds a key place in Egypt's national security and development agenda. This strategic shift, she noted, is embedded in the government's new program, which links environmental protection with sustainable economic growth. Fouad pointed to Egypt's achievements over the past decade in balancing development with environmental stewardship. She underscored the country's active role in global environmental governance, particularly through its leadership at major multilateral forums, including hosting the 2018 Biodiversity COP14—where the post-2030 global biodiversity roadmap was launched—and COP27 in 2022, which produced landmark outcomes for developing countries, especially in Africa. Egypt is also set to host the upcoming Barcelona Convention Conference, further demonstrating its continued commitment to international environmental collaboration. Fouad commended Sweden as a longstanding development partner and a key player in advancing global environmental efforts. The Minister emphasized the importance of technology in solving environmental challenges, calling for more affordable access to green technologies for developing nations. She identified technology transfer, private-sector involvement, and investment as essential to fast-tracking sustainable and scalable solutions. The two sides discussed areas of potential cooperation, including green investment opportunities in waste management—municipal, agricultural, medical, and electronic—supported by Egypt's legal and infrastructure frameworks. Other areas include carbon capture in the petroleum sector and industrial by-product reuse, with feasibility studies already completed. Ambassador Juhlin-Dannfelt lauded Egypt's progress in climate and environmental leadership, both domestically and globally. He highlighted Sweden's pioneering role in sustainability, noting that 99% of its waste is recycled or reused, and the country has made significant strides in electric vehicles and climate finance—including contributions to the Green Climate Fund. The ambassador also praised Egypt's updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) developed in collaboration with the European Union. He expressed interest in introducing Swedish green technologies and private-sector expertise to the Egyptian market and cited Sweden's use of artificial intelligence and 5G networks to monitor mangrove health as examples of innovation in environmental monitoring. The meeting also included a discussion on supporting the upcoming COP30 climate summit in Brazil. Minister Fouad stressed the need to advance climate finance, activate the Loss and Damage Fund, and restore trust in multilateral climate negotiations. The meeting concluded with an agreement to organize a series of engagements between Swedish private-sector representatives and Egyptian stakeholders to identify promising green investment opportunities and promote innovation in climate and environmental solutions.
