● H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat: “Stimulating climate finance for adaptation projects to strengthen the resilience of economies is a key objective of the climate action agenda.”
● 98% of adaptation financing is made available by governments and only 2% by the private sector. Blended financing mechanisms need to be expanded to encourage private sector financing.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, the Minister of International Cooperation, participated in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) “Joining the Effort to Drive Global Resilience”, session as part of the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) held in New York.
The “Resilience Consortium”, launched by the WEF in 2022, brings together ministers, chief executives, and heads of international organizations to accelerate collective action across key resilience drivers for the global economy. This provides a unique opportunity to businesses and public sector leaders to participate in a global effort to develop a more in-depth perspective on resilience management to prepare for any future disruptions.
This meeting also included the Deputy Administrator of the USAID, Isobel Coleman; the Deputy Executive Director for Partnerships at UNICEF, Karim Hulshof; President of the WEF, Børge Brende; the General Manager for the Gulf International Bank, USA, Gregga Baxter; President and CEO of Yara International, Svein Tore Holsether; and Rwanda’s Minister of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, Paula Ingabire, as well as many other government representatives, international financial institutions, and private sector.
In her remarks, Al-Mashat emphasized the need for resilience in all institutions, societies and economies to face the impact of future challenges. The Minister added that the world has experienced successive crises since 2020, reflecting the need for coordination and cooperation at all levels between international financial institutions, governments, and the private sector in order to enhance preparedness for future shocks.
The Minister explained finance is the main challenge for emerging countries to expand climate change adaptation projects and to strengthen the resilience of their economies. Therefore, it is essential that blended financing mechanisms be expanded to encourage all relevant stakeholders to participate in the financing of these green projects, and for the private sector to cooperate closely with the governments.
The Resilience Consortium seeks to develop a common framework to strengthen the resilience of business organizations from the government and private sectors to help achieve inclusive and sustainable growth. It also aims to provide a framework for developing the capacities of these institutions, as well as potential public-private partnerships to ensure resilient societies and economies, and to prioritize investments and solutions that help mitigate future risks.
The consortium also promotes the use of leaders in the government and private sectors to promote community awareness on the importance of resilience to mitigate future shocks, through joint ventures, research, surveys and interviews, which enhance flexibility and the agenda of targeted initiatives to enhance cooperation between relevant government and private sector.
Moreover, a facilitation committee was formed including Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation, Gulf International Bank, McKinsey & Company, the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, the Saudi Ministry of Finance, Rwanda’s Ministry of Information Communication Technology and Innovation, the International Committee for the Red Cross in Switzerland, UNICEF, Norway’s Yara International, AstraZeneca and Manulife.
The Minister is participating in the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), held in New York, under the theme, “A Watershed Moment: Transformative Solutions to Interlocking Challenges”, to address the triple crises of COVID-19, climate change and Russian-Ukrainian crisis. The meetings discuss a number of important topics, notably food insecurity, energy prices and disruptions to global supply chains.
Recently, the Ministry of International Cooperation, in cooperation with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Environment, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, organized the second edition of the Egypt-International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF), and the meeting of African Ministers of Economy, Finance and Environment, under the auspices and presence of H.E. President Abdel Fattah Sisi, the President of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
The forum witnessed the participation of more than 23 African governments, and around 20 discussion sessions, workshops and roundtables were held to galvanize the international community to support Africa’s climate change agenda, and to consolidate messages ahead of "Finance Day" during COP27.