The Somali delegation visits the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the National Planning Institute, the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, and the National Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructure
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat: We strive to strengthen bonds of cooperation with our African brothers and support South-South cooperation through the exchange of expertise, technical support, and capacity building
The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation received a delegation headed by Mr. Kamal Gutale, Permanent Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Somalia. This visit comes in line with the Ministry’s strategy to promote South-South and triangular cooperation, as well as in response to the Somali side’s interest in engaging in dialogue around areas of mutual concern and exploring knowledge transfer and capacity building opportunities for Somali personnel through collaboration with relevant Egyptian institutions.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, emphasized the importance of moving forward in harnessing opportunities, capabilities, and expertise to foster cooperation between the two brotherly nations through the South-South cooperation mechanism. She also expressed Egypt's warm welcome in providing technical support and training for Somali personnel and its full readiness to pursue future collaboration between both sides.
Al-Mashat underlined the commitment of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and his continued directives to enhance relations with Africa on all fronts—given Egypt’s strong, close, and historic ties with the continent. This has been reflected in the growing number of development projects implemented by the Egyptian private sector across Africa.
She explained that, in light of the developmental efforts Egypt has undertaken over the past decade and its accumulated expertise, the Ministry is working to increase the transfer of these experiences to developing countries and African nations. As part of this effort, the Ministry is implementing an initiative in cooperation with the African Development Bank to transfer knowledge and expertise from Egypt’s country platform for the “NWFE” (Nexus of Water, Food, and Energy) program to other African countries.
The visit of the brotherly delegation from the Federal Republic of Somalia included a tour of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS)—the national authority responsible for conducting the statistics and censuses required by all state sectors. CAPMAS plays a key role in disseminating statistical data and information and raising statistical awareness among all segments of society.
The delegation also visited the Institute of National Planning, which aims to disseminate scientific planning approaches in Egypt through various research, training, and educational activities.
In addition, the Somali delegation toured the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, the training arm of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation. The Institute works to enhance Egypt’s position in the fields of governance and sustainable development by offering training programs, consultancy services, and research aimed at spreading a culture of sustainability and implementing governance mechanisms across all sectors of the state. The Institute also provides specialized training programs for the African continent.
The visit also included theNational Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructure affiliated with Egypt’s national planning system, which is responsible for executing a range of projects. These include the Spatial Data Infrastructure Integration Project to develop Egypt’s planning system, health service and initiative development projects, and the enhancement of local citizen services.
During the visit, light was shed on the various roles and mandates of the entities affiliated with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, in addition to presenting their accumulated experience in training, capacity building, research, consultancy, studies, statistics, censuses, and surveys.
Efforts by the Ministry through the National Centre for Spatial Data Infrastructure were also showcased—especially the development of health offices, including systems for birth and death registration, vaccination tracking, and the improvement of local citizen services.