Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development meets Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Egypt and the African Union Commission.

 The meeting was attended by Kamal Nasr, Assistant Minister for Technical Office Affairs, Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Director of the International Cooperation Office at the Ministry, Dr. Mona Essam, Head of the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry, Dr. Muhammad El-Okbi, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Planning and Economic Development.During the meeting, El-Said expressed her appreciation for the expanded cooperation between Egypt and the African Union Commission in all fields, stressing her aspiration to continue this cooperation at various levels. El-Said highlighted the priorities of Egypt and the African Union Commission to achieve sustainable development, promote inclusive economic growth, as well as enhance the management of natural resources, and protect the environment through a green economy in line with Agenda 2063.El-Said talked about the tasks and fields of work of the ministry, referring to the field of planning, which includes setting long, medium, and short-term sustainable development plans, preparing the annual investment plan, in addition to evaluating the proposed investment projects for each party and determining the allocation of its investment plan. The ministry is also working on diversifying sources of funding for development plans and programs and stimulating partnership mechanisms with the private sector, civil society, and development partners to enhance financing for development.Concerning the field of economic development, El-Said referred to the ministry’s role in formulating and implementing Egypt’s Vision 2030), in addition to following up on the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Strategy (Agenda 2030) while ensuring consistency with Africa’s Agenda 2063, in addition to setting general objectives for economic development and proposing policies economics to achieve.



El-Said also touched on the role of the National Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, and the training arm of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.El-Said highlighted the programs offered by the institute within the framework of Egyptian efforts to build African cadres, especially women, to possess the capabilities necessary to achieve the ambitions and agenda of Africa 2063.El-Said also referred to Egypt's Vision 2030, explaining that Egypt was one of the leading countries in the world that has a national strategy that aligns with the 17 UN goals and is consistent with Africa's Agenda 2063, and the modernization it is witnessing to integrate global changes.El-Said affirmed Egypt's keenness and commitment to promoting and sharing its successful experiences with the world, explaining Egypt's focus on exchanging experiences between counterparts on the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063 through its submission of voluntary national reports. El-Said pointed out that Egypt, represented by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, presented last year two important international reports on sustainable development, represented in the voluntary national report for the year 2021 on Egypt's position on implementing the 2030 Agenda during the high-level political forum at the United Nations.The second was the preparation of the National Progress Report on the implementation of Agenda 2063 for the period 2013-2021, which identifies the progress made by Egypt towards implementing Agenda 2063.El-Said affirmed Egypt's keenness to invest in many key sectors represented in the sectors of education, health, social protection, water, sanitation, and transportation. El-Said also drew attention to the importance of empowering women, noting Egypt's keenness to achieve tangible results in the priority sectors on the continent, in addition to continuing institutional progress and activating the African Free Trade Area.On the road to COP-27, Dr. Hala El-Said explained that this year represents a turning point for the world, as Egypt will host the COP-27 Climate Change Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh.El-Said  explained that the Egyptian government is working, through a participatory approach, that engages stakeholders in governance and policy frameworks to address climate change by presenting the national strategy for climate change based on the directives of the Supreme Council for Climate Change headed by His Excellency the Prime Minister, and the application of "Environmental Sustainability Standards."

During the meeting, El-Said referred to the projects carried out by Egypt, pointing to the expansion of green transportation systems, the solar power plant in Benban, and the launch of Egypt's first "Green Bonds" worth $750 million.
El-Said stressed the importance of climate finance to enable Africa to adapt to the increasing impacts of climate change and to ensure that its future development path is in line to limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees celsius.She pointed out that Egypt recently launched the national report on "Financing for Development in Egypt" to identify the needs, gaps, opportunities, and challenges to confront climate change, achieve sustainable development, and eradicate poverty.El-Said also indicated the establishment of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE) in 2018 to attract private investments to Egypt and encourage joint investment in the state's resources and assets owned by it to increase its value and effectiveness for the Egyptian economy.El-Said noted that while Egypt prepares to host COP-27, the fund is focusing on green initiatives, such as water desalination and renewable energy in hydrogen and green ammonia projects.At the end of the meeting, El-Said affirmed Egypt's commitment to cooperating with the African Union Commission and the international community in combating climate change, believing that climate action and sustainable growth can only be achieved with the support of more dynamic participation of the private sector and international partners.On her part, Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, said that the meeting came to discuss the Union's priorities and the main role of implementing the first ten-year implementation plan of Agenda 2063 (2013-2023), which and its continuous evaluation. It is the first in a series of five ten-year plans over fifty years of the 50 timeframes of Agenda 2063, as well as a discussion of a second ten-year plan to accelerate the realization of Africa's Agenda 2063.