On the sidelines of her participation in the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting (DMM) in India: - Planning Minister meets UNCTAD secretary-general to discuss bilateral cooperation

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said met the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebecca Grynspan to discuss possible cooperation opportunities.

The meeting came on the sidelines of her participation in the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting (DMM) in India.

During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said stressed the importance of the dialogue addressing food security, especially at present, and taking the necessary measures to achieve stability in the global food and fertilizer markets while ensuring the stability of prices in the international supply chain under the prevailing conditions in Russia and Ukraine under the joint goal, “Good Food For All.”

El-Said confirmed that MPED prioritizes its participation in UNCAD in various fields of cooperation. Also, she highlighted cooperation in some projects, including comprehensive national financing.

 A core contribution to ensuring the execution of the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 is precisely measured by this approach, according to El-Said.

The Minister of Planning indicated the global repercussions countries have been exposed to, since the COVID-19 Pandemic, and the Russian-Ukranian war. This resulted in food and energy crises, high inflation, and climate change. Also, she pointed out that this could result in a deceleration in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 3% in 2022 to 1.9% in 2023, which represents one of the lowest growth rates in decades.

On the integrated national financing framework with UNCTAD, El-Said referred to the long history of fruitful cooperation between MPED and UNCTAD and highlighted UNCTAD's report on the measurement of illicit financial flows in Egypt under the Integrated National Financing Framework project, which presented key results and challenges, as well as a set of recommendations and proposed ways to move forward.

The Minister of Planning also drew attention to the announcement of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) declaration that the United Nations Development Account is about to launch a new project to strengthen the statistical capacity of developing countries across the region to measure and reduce illicit financial flows in cooperation with UNCTAD, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia.

In conclusion, the Minister of Planning stressed the importance of the meeting, which comes within the framework of continuing to address a wide range of development opportunities and development challenges at the macro level, not only in Egypt but globally, noting the aspiration to strengthen cooperation with UNCTAD to receive expert input and advice on the proposed approaches and methodologies to move forward existing ongoing projects such as the Integrated National Financing Framework.

UNCTAD Secretary-General expressed her interest in providing technical support to enhance data on foreign direct investment and the private sector in Egypt. She invited Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, to attend the World Investment Forum in the UAE next October in her capacity as chairperson of the board of directors of The Sovereign Fund of Egypt (TSFE).