Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development concludes her visit to India where she participated in the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting (DMM).

Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, concluded her visit to India where she participated in the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting (DMM).

The visit of H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, participated in a session titled “Collective, Pluralistic Actions to Accelerate Progress towards the SDGs".

During her speech at the session, El-Said explained that the G20 Action Plan 2023 regarding accelerating progress in achieving the sustainable development goals provides a structure to support the creation of an enabling environment to move forward in the implementation of the sustainable development goals at the global level, specifically in developing countries, by offering several means of implementation including access to finance, technology transfer, and capacity building.

El-Said also confirmed that the Egyptian government pays great attention to the localization of the SDGs at the governorate level, based on its belief that sustainable development will not be achieved without relying on a bottom-up approach, taking into account geographical disparities and ensuring balanced and equitable regional development to ensure the Leave no one behind (LNOB) principle.

She stressed the need to work collectively to enhance international coordination and partnerships, as the relevant stakeholders seek to achieve a common vision and goals, agree on priorities and ways to confront and address international challenges, as well as reach tangible results, to ensure the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

During her visit to India, El-Said also participated in a "Green Development - A Way of Life" session. She confirmed in her speech that Egypt is aware of the importance of integration and harmony between achieving climate-focused goals and the broader context of sustainable development goals.

She referred to the Decent Life initiative as one example that confirms its commitment to Egypt with this concept.

She explained that it reflected an unprecedented and radical transformation of the Egyptian countryside. This is done by targeting the provision of Egyptian villages' needs in terms of infrastructure and public services. It also creates ways to improve income and living standards for rural communities.

El-Said added that the initiative is an ideal model that reflects the concerted efforts of all ministries to contribute to providing a decent life for rural people, stressing that the Decent Life Initiative is the largest development initiative in the history of Egypt, whether in terms of the size of financial allocations, the scope of coverage and the number of beneficiaries.

El-Said indicated that the United Nations included the initiative among international best practices, taking into account the achievement of the 17 SDGs, by adopting a participatory approach to enhance the partnership between all relevant stakeholders, including the government, the private sector, civil society, researchers, and the academic community.

The initiative also has a specific monitoring and evaluation system to ensure transparency and accountability. Egypt launched an initiative entitled "A decent life for Africa resilient to climate change" during the CoP27 presidency in November 2022.

On the sidelines of her participation in the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting (DMM) in India, Dr. Hala El-Said met with Dr. Saeed Al-Saqri, Omani Minister of Economy, where she explained that the meeting came to discuss ways of technical cooperation between the two countries and the support that Egypt might provide to Oman in the field of macroeconomics and development.

The meeting witnessed Dr. Hala El-Said's proposal for Oman to join the greening initiative for national investment plans. The two sides also discussed a proposal for signing a memorandum of understanding to identify possible areas of work. The Omani side requested support from Egypt in several fields, including Egypt's expertise in development planning.

 

Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, also met with Rebecca Greenspan Mayowis, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), to discuss ways of cooperation. Her Excellency stressed during the meeting the importance of food security discussions, especially at present. She also stressed the importance of taking the necessary steps to achieve stability in the global food and fertilizer market.

It is worth noting that the G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. It plays a crucial role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance on all major international economic issues.