Dr. Rania Al Mashat noted “No country can stay isolated by itself. This is even more evident today as we see the connectedness of all societies regardless of geographies, facing a common challenge: the pandemic”. “I’ve always been a passionate advocate for multilateralism, as it enables opportunities to exchange shared experiences, learning from both successes as well as failures. This, in turn, contributes to the design of constructive national public policy that internalizes the interests to all stakeholders to maximize public welfare, stated the Minister, reiterating that “We should all continue working together to respond to this global challenge and to rebuild for inclusive economic development. When asked about the impact of the pandemic on the world, the Minister answered that the pandemic has changed people’s ability to change, to adapt with agility leading to innovation and creativity. Structural reforms were also accelerated because of the pandemic, explained the Minister, especially relating to unorganized labor force, social protection and social safety, expediting financial inclusion and digital reform as well as women economic empowerment. She emphasized the importance of increasing local production and strengthening domestic and regional value chains through strengthened collaboration between countries. The Minister stressed on the importance of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and conveyed that the Government of Egypt along with multilateral and bilateral partners, is working together not only to scale up the immediate health response to curb the spread of Covid-19 but are bringing to the fore the urgent need for global and local action during this decade of action on the SDGs. She called on the Academy students to embrace optimism and to overcome challenges through leveraging every opportunity to acquire knowledge and learning by shared experiences. To see the video of Dr. Al-Mashat’s meeting with the AYD youth, press on the following link: https://youtu.be/KIg-Sdrw1zE