Al Mashat noted that, “this year’s award carries particular significance in a period dominated by the importance of cooperation and collectivism for the purpose of serving the people.” In September, Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania Al Mashat, expanded its projects with the WFP in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help support one million farmers located in 500 villages by 2023. To celebrate the UN’s 75th anniversary, Ministries of International Cooperation and Agriculture joined the WFP to inspect a number of development projects in the governorates of Luxor and Qena, as part of the South-South Initiative, which aims to develop rural communities in Upper Egypt and transfer this experience to other African countries. In cooperation with Egypt, the projects contribute to building the capacity of one million small farmers through 2023 by introducing modern agricultural and irrigation systems, providing in-kind loans to women and mothers in particular to promote women's empowerment, and transform communities through the renovation of community schools to smart schools to combat child labor and poverty. Ministry of International Cooperation and WFP also produced a video entitled ‘Beyond Food’, showcasing the history of Egypt’s partnership with the WFP and the joint Egypt-WFP efforts to end hunger and transform communities. Following the visit, the African Union Commission commended Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation and the World Food Programme (WFP)’s cooperation in developing rural communities and supporting small farmers in Upper Egypt. Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation aims to strengthen economic diplomacy to effectively deliver the sustainable development agenda and contribute to human development. The three principles include regularly organizing multi-stakeholder platforms to ensure that all projects between development partners are streamlined and effectively coordinated, adopting a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative People&Projects&Purpose (P&P&P); and mapping ODA financing to SDGs for all projects with multilateral and bilateral development partners. Partnership between Egypt and the World Food Programme extends for more than 50 years, and the current strategy for the period of 2018 - 2023 allocates about $586 million towards social protection programs, providing food security for the most vulnerable, focusing on women and mothers, and building farmers' resilience.