Minister of Planning, Elena Panova discuss Egypt’s participation in the 2023 SDGs Summit

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said, met recently with UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Elena Panova to discuss Egypt's participation in the SDGs Summit September 18-19 in New York City.

The meeting witnessed the presence of Deputy Minister of Planning Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Assistant Minister for Sustainable Development Affairs Dr. Mona Essam, Supervisor of the Office of International Cooperation Ambassador Hazem Khairat, and Economist at the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt Scott Standley.

During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said confirmed that the last Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit, held 4 years ago in 2019, contributed significantly to reviewing progress and identifying the necessary measures to accelerate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development implementation.

However, since then, the global economy has witnessed a series of shocks such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as the repercussions of climate change, which led to food and energy crises, increased inflation, tight monetary policy, and more restrictive credit conditions, indicating that these challenges have hindered development gains, especially in developing countries.

El-Said explained that due to these challenges, global growth is expected to slow down significantly, and according to the UN, growth is expected to slow from 3% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023, which represents one of the lowest growth rates in recent decades, and thus threatens to achieve SDGs in the coming years, noting that, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the gap in reaching SDGs in developing countries increased by 56% after the outbreak of Coronavirus, from $ 2.5 to 3.9 trillion in 2020, indicating that mending this gap would require less than 1% of global financing.

The Minister of Planning also stressed the importance of addressing the possibility of mobilizing adequate financial resources to support transformations related to the SDGs before the SDGs Summit, and the need to urgently increase international cooperation, as there is an urgent need for a new era and a new approach to international partnerships for sustainable development.

Furthermore, Dr. Hala El-Said indicated the importance of the SDGs Summit, given that it represents the middle of the road in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. It provides an excellent opportunity to build momentum and accelerate progress towards the sustainable development goals.

El-Said said that Egypt continues to address a wide range of development opportunities and challenges at the macro level, noting that the Egyptian government is committed to playing its role in the global implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, as one of the highest-priority agenda items, and is also committed to continuing global discussions and seeking to improve proposed approaches and methodologies to achieve the common goal of achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In her presentation, Elena Panova outlined the most prominent goals of the 2023 SDGs Summit. This was held during the United Nations General Assembly high-level week. 

Within the framework of the summit, heads of state and governments will meet at UN Headquarters to follow up and review the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the 17 SDGs. 

She explained that the summit will come out with a political declaration that includes renewing the commitment of different countries to the main principles of the UN 2023 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement, and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.

Concerning financing the SDGs, Panova praised the joint efforts with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development in formulating a strategy for financing the SDGs in Egypt in cooperation with the Joint Fund for Sustainable Development Goals, as the strategy is expected to be launched after the completion of its agreement with the affiliated UN bodies, and a dialogue with representatives of the private sector and academia in Egypt.

Moreover, the meeting addressed the upcoming participation of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the high-level political forum on sustainable development, held in New York from the 10th to the 19th of July 2023. And that Egypt intends to organize a side event on the sidelines of the forum to review the Egyptian experience in preparing national voluntary reports.

The Sustainable Development Goals Summit 2023 aims to renew the pledge to fulfill both international and national commitments in various fields by pledging to direct investments in favor of achieving the UN SDGs and to accelerate the pace of implementation of those goals, by announcing clear commitments that include implementation steps to ensure that they are put in place and future implementation within a framework of transparency and accountability.

Finally, the summit also aims to launch high-impact initiatives, which will be announced by the Secretary General of the UN within the framework of the partnership of various countries with UN bodies, in various fields, including investment initiatives in digital transformation, social protection, women's empowerment, and other vital issues.