● The Minister of International Cooperation discussed with the UN ways to advance joint action to transfer Egypt's experience in development cooperation programs to developing countries and the African continent.
● Discussions on the implementation of the climate initiative with the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and efforts to stimulate partnerships with the private sector.
● The Minister met with the delegation of the Republic of Cuba to enhance bilateral relations in light of the partnership agreements between the two sides.
During H.E.’s participation in the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), held in Doha, Qatar, Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat held a number of bilateral meetings with multilateral and bilateral development partners, to stimulate the country's development efforts.
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
Al-Mashat met with Dima Al-Khatib, Director of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), where H.E. congratulated Al-Khatib on assuming her new position, wishing her a successful and fruitful mission in promoting joint action among the countries of the South.
The meeting discussed strengthening joint cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the countries of the South, to benefit from the development experiences and experiences implemented, especially the development cooperation programs implemented with multilateral and bilateral development partners, and transfer these experiences to other developing countries, especially in the African continent.
The Minister stressed that south-south cooperation is a powerful tool towards strengthening joint work between developing countries and the transfer and exchange of experiences and knowledge to achieve SDGs. H.E. pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic and successive challenges have imposed exceptional situations that negatively affect growth and development, which makes south-south and triangular cooperation indispensable to overcome these challenges and create models of constructive partnerships based on transparency and accountability and can provide solutions to cooperation according to the priorities of each country.
Al-Mashat referred to the joint efforts between the Ministry of International Cooperation and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to launch an academy for cooperation between the countries of the South in Egypt. This is a platform aimed at facilitating the exchange of experiences, development solutions and documentation of knowledge in various fields of development. She pointed out that the Ministry of International Cooperation is working to strengthen the exchange of experiences and expertise, especially those projects implemented in cooperation with development partners to become a model that can be replicated through South-South cooperation.
H.E. pointed out that Egypt has pioneering experiences in various fields, headed by the Presidential Initiative for the development of the Egyptian rural areas "Haya Karima", and development cooperation programs with development partners such as the Luxor Center for Innovation and Knowledge Exchange, implemented in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP), as well as the Benban Solar Energy Complex, in which many partners contribute, including the World Bank Group (WBG) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, (EBRD) as well as in cooperation with Arab funds, noting that all these experiences can represent a model to be followed in other developing countries to increase the effectiveness of development cooperation.
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Moreover Al-Mashat met with Isobel Coleman, Deputy Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), where the Minister expressed her appreciation for the strategic partnership between Egypt and the USA, and the joint development efforts between the two countries and the cooperation programs implemented in various fields, including: sustainable infrastructure, green transformation, health, small and medium enterprises, and other priority areas.
H.E. discussed ongoing projects and programs implemented to support economic and structural reforms aimed at improving the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and stimulating trade and investment, as well as promotion of trade and investment relations between the two countries and expanding the scope of investments of American companies in Egypt’s priority sectors.
The Ministry of International Cooperation and the USAID signed 7 grant agreements during 2022 worth approximately $160 million in the sectors of basic education, higher education, health, economic governance, trade, sustainability and climate action, including a $15 million climate initiative grant agreement.
The Minister of International Cooperation discussed the new climate initiative agreement signed at the end of last year, which will be implemented by relevant national entities to support the state's efforts in a green transition through 3 main components: sustainable tourism in the Red Sea, strengthening climate systems, and climate finance.
Additionally, the Minister discussed the Government of Egypt’s commitment to strengthen cooperation with the USA in implementing projects in various African countries through sharing successful experiences. H.E. also reviewed the country platform for Nexus for Water, Food and Energy (NWFE) platform.
It is worth mentioning that the current development cooperation portfolio between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the United States of America includes about $1 billion dollars since 2014, through which development projects and program financing are implemented in several sectors, including tourism, agriculture, small and medium enterprises and education.
The Delegation of the Republic of Cuba
The Minister of International Cooperation met with the delegation of the Republic of Cuba participating in the 5th UN LDC conference. This includes Rodrigo Malmierca Díaz, Minister of Foreign Trade and Investments, Deborah Rivas Saavedra, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and Oscar León González, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to the State of Qatar.
The discussions included the historical common relations between Egypt and Cuba, and Egypt’s commitment to deepen joint cooperation between the two countries, in the light of the recently signed documents between the two parties in the field of media protection and trade and cultural cooperation. She added that there are many common goals and concerns between the two countries, which opens up scope for South-South cooperation, supporting efforts to achieve inclusive and sustainable development in developing countries.