Planning, Local Development Ministers follow up on the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects in a Tuesday meeting at Egypt’s Ministry of Planning & Economic Development headquarters.The meeting was attended by UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27 Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin.

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, held a coordination meeting to follow up on the executive position of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects.
 The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP27, and through a video conference, Major General Hisham Amna, Minister of Local Development.
 Moreover, the meeting witnessed the participation of Ambassador Hisham Badr, General Coordinator of the Initiative, Eng. Khaled Mustafa, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning, and the Governors (via video conference).During the meeting, El-Said confirmed that this national initiative, the results of which will be announced at the COP 27 climate conference, which Egypt will host next November in Sharm El-Sheikh, will continue after the end of the conference as one of the important national initiatives that come within the framework of localizing the sustainable development goals.
El-Said reviewed the reports of the settlement of the sustainable development goals in all governorates of the Republic and thanked the governors for their cooperation in studying and discussing these reports at the governorate level.
El-Said said that Egypt is one of the first Arab countries to release voluntary local reports, which will be reviewed at the United Nations next July, noting that Egypt is also one of the ten countries in the world that release 3 voluntary national reports so far.

El-Said added that the voluntary local reports highlight the extent of the state's interest in development at the governorate level, pointing to the "Decent Life" initiative as the largest development project in the world, which works to effectively localize sustainable development goals at the governorate level.

The Minister of Planning also referred to the ministry's launch of environmental sustainability standards, which are adhered to in presenting the investment plan, pointing out that the state achieved 30% of green projects in the investment plan during the past year.
El-Said added that it is intended to reach that percentage to 40% in the 22/2023 plan, and 50% during 24/2025.
About the national initiative for smart green projects, El-Said explained that the daily statistics of projects' participation in the initiative reflect the extent of the interest of the governorates and citizens in this initiative.
 El-Said also reviewed the preparatory stages of the initiative, its importance, categories, and next steps for it, noting that 162 projects will be initially selected from all governorates to be liquidated in the final stage to 18 projects other than major projects.
On the importance of the initiative; El-Said explained that it comes within the framework of Egypt's hosting of COP 27 and that it was agreed with Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin to transfer the initiative from the local level to the African and international level, to become a model for initiatives in this field at the international level.
For his part, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin indicated that this initiative is unprecedented in the world in preparing for climate summits, explaining that previous summits did not mobilize societal interest at the local level and at the level of governorates, states, or regions in the countries that preceded Egypt in preparing for the climate summit.
Mohieldin added that all the efforts made by the governors, each in his position and the accompanying team, constitute an understanding and consideration of the investment map at the governorate level.

For his part, Major General Hisham Amna, Minister of Local Development, stressed the Egyptian state's interest in settling sustainable development goals at the level of all governorates.

The Minister of Local Development referred to the great interest that the ministry attaches to the initiative, explaining that the initiative aims to enhance national interaction with the environmental dimension and climate changes, with the development of a map at the governorate level for green and smart projects.

Major General Hisham Amna praised the governorates' efforts in the daily and continuous follow-up of the committee's work, encouraging the private sector, companies, and civil society, especially youth and women, to apply for the competition, and holding periodic meetings to overcome obstacles.
The Minister of Local Development valued the efforts of the Minister of Planning and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin since the launch of the initiative sponsored by the President of the Republic, in cooperation with the ministries, and members of the Organizing Committee.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Planning, in coordination with the Ministry of Local Development and the governorates, has organized training programs to introduce the importance of smart green projects and the criteria for selecting them and to promote the initiative through the official pages and websites of the governorates.

The Minister of Local Development directed the governors to constantly provide all necessary support to ensure the success of this initiative and continuous and direct communication with those in charge of it, which is a distinguished model for cooperation between all state agencies, governorates, international partners, civil society and the private sector.