● Geopolitical tensions impose significant challenges on developing countries' growth and employment prospects and their ability to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
● There is a necessity to create a framework for integration between developing and advanced countries to bridge the financing gaps for development and reduce inequalities.
● "Hayah Karima" presidential initiative serves as a model for initiatives providing comprehensive services in health, education, and infrastructure in Egyptian rural villages.
As part of her participation in the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting in Brazil, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, participated in a discussion session titled "Reducing Inequalities and Triangular Cooperation."
During her speech at the session, Al-Mashat clarified that the world currently faces multiple and complex challenges, including rising poverty and hunger, rising food and energy prices, climate change, and geopolitical tensions, which pose significant challenges to developing countries in particular and hinder their progress towards achieving the SDGs, noting that while these crises affect all countries, they impose greater challenges on developing countries and their populations, underscoring the importance of strengthening the multilateral system and international cooperation in all its forms as a necessity to address these challenges.
H.E. Minister Al-Mashat added that inequality represents a major factor hindering progress towards implementing the 2030 Agenda, which necessitates reducing gaps in all its forms and dimensions, confirming full support for the G20 Development Working Group under the Brazilian presidency in prioritizing gap reduction to enhance comprehensive social inclusion, ensure equal opportunities for all, empower women, alongside addressing the current digital divide and ensuring development financing.
Al-Mashat pointed out the "Hayah Karima" initiative as an example of Egypt's commitment to reducing inequalities, noting that the presidential initiative was launched in 2019 with the aim of improving the quality of life for citizens in rural areas, serving as a model for integrating SDGs in the governorates of the republic, focusing on improving livelihoods, infrastructure, and access to basic services, explaining that the initiative targets improving living conditions for residents of about 4,500 villages.
H.E. Minister Al-Mashat stated that the United Nations SDGs report for 2024 indicated that only 17% of development goals are on track, while 35% have either stagnated or regressed below the basic level set in 2015, clarifying that developing countries have much to achieve, but evidence must be strengthened; the commitment of developing countries and urge them to act, emphasizing the transformative and urgent steps needed to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals.
Al-Mashat explained that since 2020, global crises have proven that knowledge exchange among developing countries is essential to help develop effective institutions, build capacities, and create sustainable solutions towards growth and justice, confirming full support for priorities within the G20 Development Working Group framework: triangular cooperation, reducing inequalities, sustainable water resource management, to accelerate the pace of sustainable development goal achievement.
H.E. Minister Al-Mashat noted that Egypt's commitment to south-south cooperation and triangular cooperation is driven by the belief that countries sharing economic and social conditions can enhance cooperation better by exchanging successful policies and development practices proven effective in their respective contexts, pointing out to the launch of Egypt's Economic Cooperation Strategy among countries of the South and triangular cooperation in May 2023, aiming to enhance knowledge exchange and benefit from successful developmental experiences with developmental partners.
Al-Mashat added that within the framework of activating this strategy, Egypt cooperated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and relaunched the Academy of South-South Cooperation in 2021 to become the first comprehensive entity in the Middle East and Africa as part of the Global Development Academy for South-South Cooperation, noting success in hosting workshops for knowledge exchange involving African countries, aiming to exchange practices and successful policies in areas such as food security, integrating climate adaptation into cooperation policies, enhancing private sector participation in adaptation, and strengthening climate-resilient development through just financing.
H.E. Minister Al-Mashat pointed out that the knowledge exchange mechanism for triangular cooperation under the Brazilian presidency of the G20 could allow countries to exchange expertise, enhance national tripartite cooperation systems, develop tools and guidelines, improve data management, as well as establish funding mechanisms for triangular cooperation, confirming that Egypt will spare no effort in supporting and enhancing south-south cooperation, not only as a prominent emerging economy in the Middle East and North Africa region but also as chair of the next NEPAD until 2025.
In conclusion, Al-Mashat highlighted that the upcoming Summit of the Future, scheduled for September, represents an opportunity to showcase the power of international cooperation in addressing both current and emerging challenges. Through adopting a Pact for the Future, the summit will reaffirm existing commitments, while moving towards a reinvigorated multilateral system better positioned to impact people’s lives positively.