Within the framework of cooperation between Egypt and the United Nations to advance development efforts and implement the outcomes of the first workshop of the United Nations Joint Working Group on Technology and Innovation initiative, the Ministry of International Cooperation held a meeting to discuss the proposal to establish a platform to promote rural tourism in Egypt, at the Ministry’s headquarters in the New Administrative Capital, in the presence of representatives of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Ministry of Local Development, the United Nations Development Program, the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, and entrepreneurs in the field of tourism.
The first workshop of the United Nations Joint Task Force on Technology and Innovation (UN-JTDI) initiative was organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation during the year 2022 in coordination with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and with the participation of representatives of 18 United Nations agencies and 9 ministries, with the aim of formulating non-standard and innovative government projects that are Based on technology and innovation.
The meeting discussed the most important challenges facing entrepreneurs in the business environment for rural tourism. The importance of creating a special platform for promoting rural tourism was also discussed in order to link it to cultural heritage and folk arts, in partnership with the private sector in light of the state’s tendency to encourage private sector participation in various development efforts.
It is worth noting that the aforementioned project is under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Ministry of Local Development in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and a second workshop is scheduled to be held, to continue discussions regarding preparing the concept memorandum for the project in the presence of Representatives of government agencies, international development partners, the private sector, research centers, and civil society organizations.
Relations between Egypt and the United Nations go back to 1945, as Egypt is one of the founding countries of the United Nations. The strategic framework for partnership was launched in 2006, and a number of stages of the strategic framework were implemented, the most recent of which is the strategic framework for partnership for the period from 2018-2022, which supported development work in Egypt through... 4 axes: economic development, social justice, sustainable management of natural resources, and women’s empowerment. The Strategic Framework for Partnership for Sustainable Development 2023-2027 represents a cooperation tool between Egypt and the United Nations to enhance its path towards achieving sustainable development.
The new strategic framework includes five groups of results according to each of the following axes, which are comprehensive economic development, social justice, sustainability of environmental and natural resources, good governance, and the empowerment of women and girls.