Egypt - International Cooperation Forum convened more than 1,500 participants, both physical and virtually form the various stakeholders of the development ecosystem

In its closing ceremony, the Egypt - International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF) stressed a number of strategic recommendations for the local, regional and international community and all multilateral and international cooperation parties to consider while developing a roadmap to achieving sustainable development. H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation in the closing ceremony of Egypt International Cooperation in its first edition expressed her gratitude to H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s patronage of the event; and Egyp-tian Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly for taking part of the forum, reflecting the Gov-ernment of Egypt’s focus on multilateralism and international cooperation to fulfill the devel-opment agenda. The forum was organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation, in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Bank Group (WBG), the European Back for Reconstruc-tion and Development (EBRD), and the United Nations (UN); convening the regional state ministers, as well as presidents of several international financial institutions, the private sec-tor, the civil society, and think tanks from the development ecosystem. H.E. Al-Mashat stated in the closing ceremony: “Over the course of two days, we wit-nessed a number of panel discussions and workshops with the participation and high-level attendance of more than 1,500 government officials, heads of international and regional fi-nancial institutions, representatives of the private sector and civil society from all over the world, where they exchanged views, visions, experiences and expertise to enhance the role that international cooperation and development finance play in advancing the UN goals for sustainable development.” Al- Mashat reiterated that the Egypt - ICF is a hub for international cooperation, where the lay down of efficient and effective development interventions is the purpose in order to build back better, while keeping the global pledge to “Leave No One Behind.” She released the first Cairo Communiqué, encompassing a list of commandments that have resulted from the extensive discussions occurring over the course of the forum. Al-Mashat mentioned in her closing speech that “governance and transparency are at the heart of sustainable development, we must ensure as leaders the rigorous implementation of the global international cooperation and development financing agreements.” The Cairo Communiqué emphasizes the importance of an inclusive multilateral cooperation; between state ministries, development partners, the private sector, and the civil society aiming to drive consistent progress towards the fulfillment of both the global and local 2030 goals. She also stated that working to build effective partnerships with sustainable impact that in-clude all relevant parties from governments, international financial institutions, the private sector, and the civil society in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Develop-ment. The Cairo Communiqué highlights the MEA region’s potential to drive progress and sus-tainable development globally. The Egypt - ICF witnessed multiple South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation discussions that were reflected in the Cairo Communiqué as two of the main factors to enhance multilateral cooperation for the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African “Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want.” The Minister of International Cooperation further elaborated, in her closing speech about the Egypt - ICF’s Cairo Communiqué, the importance of private sector engagement in aims to advance the global sustainability targets. She highlighted the necessity for structural and economic reforms in order to push towards more involvement of the private entities in the development agenda. In the closing ceremony, Al-Mashat stated that the infrastructure sector remains a main de-velopment area for the global community; highlighting the necessity of development inter-ventions and the allocation of more financing in its maintenance and construction across developing nations. In conclusion of her speech, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat stressed on the importance of taking the necessary measures and reforms to encourage digital transformation led by the youth in Africa to unleash the continent’s potential and to push towards the establishment of innovation-based and knowledge-driven economies. The Egypt-ICF, in its first edition, took place over September 8-9, bringing together global and regional leaders to discuss pressing challenges and issues; aiming at providing a hub for high-level discussions and knowledge sharing workshops in order to lay down develop-ment plans that support the global sustainability goals and match the national priorities across all countries. The Cairo Communiqué was released at the end of the forum, in order to list down the conclusions and results of each panel discussion and workshop that have taken place during the forum; bringing the global community a conclusive document of sug-gestions and commandments to push towards the 2030 goals more diligently.