H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat emphasized the need to strengthen multilateral cooperation to support the developing and emerging countries in enhancing food security.
The Minister of International Cooperation and Governor of Egypt at the World Bank Group (WBG), H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, participated in a panel on “Accelerating Action for Food Security and Resilience” during the Spring Meetings of the WBG and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The session was attended by President of the WBG, David Malpass; Head of UN World Food Programme; David Beasley; WBG Vice President for Sustainable Development, Juergen Voegele; and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Vice President, Junaid Ahmed. The discussions included measures being taken by governments, the private sector and international organizations on enhancing food security; facing the current global challenges; and sharing expertise and experiences across the world.
In her speech, Al-Mashat referred to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and its impact on food security in the world, creating a decline in global efforts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, as the world’s focus has shifted from recovering economically and socially to the global food security issues, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of food commodities to developing and emerging countries.
Al-Mashat noted the Government of Egypt’s efforts to enhance food security and develop solutions, providing basic commodities and wheat imports from other countries, noting that the state has, over the past years, increased agricultural production thus, securing a strategic stock of basic commodities.
The Minister also spoke about Egypt's COP27 Presidency, through which Egypt will display its clear vision; from pledges to action in tackling the climate crisis through international partnerships, innovative financing instruments, and developing an international framework for innovative climate financing, to promote global climate action, and to support developing and emerging countries in their national plans to reduce emissions and combat climate change.
Al-Mashat stressed the importance of strengthening multilateral cooperation to enhance food security, to support developing and emerging countries, and to ensure sustainable financing for adaptation and mitigation projects. The Minister also pointed out the importance of increasing private sector participation in development, and to strengthen de-risking tools.
The Minister, who is also Governor of Egypt at the World Bank Group, is participating in the WBG and IMF Spring Meetings which are being hosted with physical participation for the first time after being virtually held in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WBG & IMF Spring Meetings are being held in April, at a time when development efforts in the world are facing unprecedented challenges due to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, as well as due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains and inflation rates.
In her capacity as the Governor of Egypt at the WBG, one of Egypt’s largest development partners, Al-Mashat will participate in the meetings where she is scheduled to speak at a number of important events to discuss challenges facing developing and emerging countries.