During HLPF 2023 activities: The Minister of Planning and Economic Development Delivers the Egyptian national statement during the opening of the ministerial section of the forum's work.

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development delivered the Egyptian national statement during the opening of the ministerial section of the 2023 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on sustainable development at the United Nations in New York.

 

 

 

The HLPF 2023 takes place from 10 to 19 July 2023 in New York. The theme is ‘Accelerating the recovery from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels’.

 

El-Said said that the 2023 High-Level Political Forum and the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, which will be held next September, provide a unique opportunity to send a strong political message and reaffirm the commitment to achieving sustainable development, with poverty eradication at the core of joint efforts, and addressing challenges on the way to achieving the goals: sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

 

El-Said added that despite the multiple and interrelated challenges facing the world, Egypt is committed to achieving sustainable development at all levels in line with Egypt's Vision 2030, stressing that the Egyptian government is taking concrete steps to localize sustainable development goals throughout its governorates, explaining the state's belief that this is an essential tool to enable local authorities to support the achievement of development goals.

 

El-Said announced that Egypt had successfully issued its first-ever voluntary local reviews for three governorates, confirming its intention to continue working with all partners to promote sustainable development goals through localization through exchanging knowledge and experiences and implementing effective practical policies.

 

On the sustainable development goals that the high-level forum focuses on this year, El-Said expressed Egypt's concern regarding achieving the goal of clean water and sanitation, according to the results of the synthesis report of the sixth goal of the sustainable development goals, noting that Egypt welcomed the United Nations Water Conference in March 2023 and its results.

 

El-Said added that at the national level, and as Egypt is one of the countries suffering from water scarcity in the world, it can still achieve tangible achievements. She added that the World Sustainable Development Report 2023 shows that Egypt is on the right track to meet the goal by 2030.

 

This is thanks to a comprehensive strategy for managing water resources and a national water policy, following up that despite this, these efforts are greatly threatened due to Egypt's geographical location, as an estuary country whose only water lifeline stems from outside its borders, which urgently and decisively requires effective cooperation in the field of resources.

 

About industry, innovation, and infrastructure, El-Said confirmed that Egypt's investments in its infrastructure have increased in the past few years to about $400 billion, as part of sustainable national investments across the country.

 

On Egypt's commitment to providing clean energy at reasonable prices, El-Said referred to Egypt's announcement of updating its Nationally Determined Contributions in June 2023. This included a commitment to increase renewable energy's share of the total energy mix to reach 42% by 2030.

 

El-Said added that in the context of pursuing sustainable cities and communities, 23 existing smart cities are being developed across the country, including the upcoming administrative capital of Egypt.

 

 

El-Said affirmed Egypt's commitment to contributing to the collective efforts to achieve sustainable development in its three dimensions during its presidency of the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties, explaining that the conference adopted ambitious and practical results, including the Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan, which includes outstanding achievements in mitigation, adaptation, and provision of means of implementation.

 

 

At the end of the speech, El-Said stressed the importance of providing executive means for developing countries, and strengthening cooperation and partnerships, to achieve sustainable development and eradicate poverty.