During HLPF 2023 activities in NY:The Minister of Planning and Economic Development discusses cooperation ways with the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with Dr. Khaled Mahdi, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development in Kuwait, to discuss joint cooperation.

The aforementioned meeting came on the sidelines of its participation in the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2023, which is being held in New York under the slogan "Accelerating recovery from Covid-19 and fully implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels" during the period from 10-19 July.

The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning, and Dr. Mona Essam, Assistant Minister for Sustainable Development Affairs. In addition, Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek, Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, and Egypt's Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said reviewed Egypt's experience in the localization of sustainable development goals, noting the launch of 27 reports to localize sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the governorates, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund.

These reports aim to document the progress and current status of implementing the SDGs in each governorate.

She emphasized that the Egyptian government pays great attention to the localization of sustainable development goals 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 the development gaps in each governorate to ensure balanced and equitable regional development to ensure the Leave no one behind (LNOB) principle

The Minister of Planning added that the Ministry, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), supported 3 Egyptian governorates - as a first stage - namely Fayoum, Beheira, and Port Said, in developing the first voluntary local reviews (VLRs), which help local governments to share the progress made in achieving the goals of sustainable development in a participatory manner.

El-Said also referred to the launch of the Governorates Competitiveness Index in partnership with the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMS), the Information and Decision Support Center of the Council of Ministers, and the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council, in close cooperation with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and with the support of the Macroeconomic Reform and Stability Project of the US Agency for International Development.

It is the first integrated and multidimensional indicator that reflects the determinants of Egyptian governorates' comprehensive economic growth approach.

El-Said explained that Egypt was one of the first countries to adopt a national agenda for sustainable development (Egypt's Vision 2030), which is in line with the UN's sustainable development goals, noting that international indicators also correspond to the local context of each country.

She further stressed during the meeting the importance of providing training and capacity-building within the Arab countries and the importance of governance for development, as governance ensures the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions, reduces corruption, and ensures sustainable economic development and a better quality of life for citizens.

For his part, Dr. Khaled Mahdi praised Egyptian efforts in sustainable development. He pointed out that some Egyptian expertise has been utilized in some fields, including planning.