Egypt's Minister of Environment, Yasmine Fouad, has arrived in Nairobi to participate in the 20th session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), taking place from 14 to 18 July under the theme "Four Decades of Environmental Action in Africa: Reflecting on the Past and Imagining the Future," marking the conference's 40th anniversary. This high-level gathering brings together ministers from across the continent, alongside senior figures including the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the President of the African Development Bank, and the African Union Commissioner for Environment, as well as prominent environmental experts. Fouad highlighted the importance of AMCEN in shaping unified African positions ahead of major international events, including the seventh session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), ongoing negotiations towards a global treaty on plastic pollution, and the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP30). She noted that the conference will also review progress on previous resolutions and set Africa's environmental priorities for the period 2025–2027. During the opening session, which included the ceremonial handover of the AMCEN presidency to Libya, Fouad took part in several high-level ministerial dialogues. These included discussions on "Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Budgeting and Finance" as a means to address climate change, natural disasters, and environmental degradation. She also engaged in a dialogue titled "Leveraging the G20 to Address Environmental Challenges," and participated in the official launch of the African Union's Continental Circular Economy Action Plan (2024–2034), designed to support sustainable economic growth and reduce environmental waste across Africa. On the sidelines of AMCEN-20, Minister Fouad is holding a series of bilateral meetings, including with Musonda Mumba, Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention, to discuss preparations for COP15; Elizabeth Maruma, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UNEP; and Jim Skea, Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), to follow up on preparations for the IPCC's 63rd session scheduled for October 2025. She is also set to meet with Jessica Roswall, EU Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy.
