Ministry of Planning launches a national consultation session on Egypt’s pledges toward achieving 2030 SDGs

H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Egypt’s Minister of Planning and Economic Development launched a national consultation session on the pledges of the Arab Republic of Egypt toward achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in preparation for participation in the United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development Goals (2023 SDG Summit) scheduled for on September 18 and 19, 2023 at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York.

  The session witnessed the presence of Dr. Maya Morsi, President of the National Council for Women (NCW), Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and Ms. Elena Panova, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Eng. Khaled Mustafa, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, and Dr. Mona Essam, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Sustainable Development Affairs.

The session also witnessed the presence of Dr. Jamil Helmy, Assistant Minister for Sustainable Development Plan Follow-up Affairs, Mr. Ashraf Negm, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Investment Bank, Ambassador Hisham Badr, National Coordinator of the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects, Dr. Hossam Badrawi, National Dialogue Advisor, Dr. Tarek. Qabil, former Minister of Trade and Industry.

El-Said asserted that Egypt attaches great importance to participating in the work of the UN SDGs 2030 Summit and providing its contributions to the summit’s work agenda, which comes in the middle of the term to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its 17 SDGs in 2015, which aspires to raise the level of ambition and accelerate aspects of work. International, regional, and national efforts to reach the desired completion rates within just seven years from now.

El-Said stressed Egypt's keenness, through the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, to have a strong and effective participation in the summit to express its pioneering role at the international and regional levels regarding sustainable development issues by presenting its national vision for ways to accelerate the implementation of the development agenda at the global level.

She further said that the agenda needs to strengthen financing mechanisms for development and provide concessional financing packages, especially for developing and least developed countries, in addition to accelerating the localization of sustainable development goals at various levels of local administration, as well as providing the technology and means of implementation necessary to raise levels of development performance and implementation.

For her part, Elena Panova praised the Egyptian government for its continued commitment to the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals despite the unprecedented challenges it faces, stressing that Egypt’s new national commitments and its participation in the Sustainable Development Goals Summit are examples of this commitment on the ground.

El-Said pointed out that the national consultations held today with representatives from various parts of Egyptian society represent an important step in building consensus on what must be done to reach sustainable development goals and how everyone can play a supportive role.

Dr. Mona Essam, Assistant Minister of Planning and Economic Development for Sustainable Development, gave a presentation on the proposed national pledges towards achieving the goals of sustainable development.

Mona Essam explained that the framework governing sustainable development in Egypt depends on Egypt’s Vision 2030, the National Committee affiliated with the Prime Minister to follow up on the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and its technical secretariat, in addition to the Unified Planning Law.

  Essam also reviewed the national efforts to promote sustainable development in Egypt since the previous United Nations Summit on Sustainable Development Goals of 2019, as well as the localization of SDGs at the governorate level.