At the SDG Summit 2023 in NY: The Ministry of Planning and Economy organizes the side event "Localization of Finance or Financing Localization?"

The Ministry of Planning and Economy organized a side event "Localization of Finance or Financing Localization?" in the presence of H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Local Alliance 2030, the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat). 

 

  The aforementioned side event is part of the Sustainable Development Goals Weekend activities in conjunction with the UN Sustainable Development Goals Summit, which will take place on 18-19 September. in New York. 

 

The Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said, explained in her speech that sustainable development cannot be achieved without an approach that takes into account geographical differences and ensures balanced and fair regional development, as well as several components, such as strengthening the capacity of governors, ensuring access to information and finding adequate funding. 

  El-Said emphasized the efforts of the Egyptian state and noted the creation of a financial formula to distribute financial resources to various governorates fairly and objectively according to certain standards to improve the efficiency of public investment management and strengthen decentralization.

 

 El-Said also noted that Egypt launched the Integrated System for Investment Plan Preparation and Follow-up (ISIPPM), an integrated E-system that links state administrative units that prepare and follow national, sectoral, and regional plans. 

 It aims to link the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt's Vision 2030 with the work program of the Egyptian government and development projects implemented by all aid agencies in the Arab Republic of Egypt, adding that efforts will be linked continuously to the most important performance indicators of the system that monitor the implementation of the government's work program.  

 

 El-Said added that Egypt is working hard to improve access to information and report on governors' performance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals to guide development and target funding. 

El-Said cited efforts by the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development of Egypt to publish for the first time 27 reports on the localization of the Goals of Sustainable Development in each of the Egyptian governorates because the reports provide an overview of the performance of each governorate to achieve the goals in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 

 El-Said added that these reports raised governors' awareness of the SDGs and how far they are from achieving them and provided tailored recommendations on areas where efforts should be focused. 

 

 El-Said emphasized that these efforts are mainly aimed at enabling governorate decision-makers to formulate evidence-based policies and decisions, noting that Egypt will also launch a governorate-level competitiveness index in June 2023. 

 

  El-Said discussed voluntary local assessments for three governorates initiated by Egypt in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program. 

 El-Said added that the main value of the voluntary local reports and the Governors' Competitiveness Index is not only in the process of learning, research, and data collection, but goes beyond the preparation process itself, which takes place e.g. participation of all stakeholders and relevant parties.  

El-Said emphasized that in addition to defining a clear road map with a specific action plan and effective implementation tools, it is also necessary to take advantage of the experiences of the past seven years to accelerate cooperation to achieve the goals of sustainable development at the global and national levels. 

 

 El-Said pointed out that the localization process has proven to be an important tool for bringing together decision-makers, leaders, and stakeholders at the local level. 

 El-Said added that the biggest challenge to the localization process and the implementation of sustainable development goals in general is the lack of adequate, sufficient, and sustainable financing. 

 

  El-Said added that in the first phase, the government can play the biggest role in providing opportunities by allocating adequate funding to its governor and most importantly focusing on competitive advantages and investment opportunities at the local level. 

 

  El-Said added that the best way to locate is to consider the economic, social, and environmental conditions, urgent needs, and priorities of local communities. 

 El-Said emphasized the need for local priorities that would guide the strategic planning process and direct public sector investments to sustainable development goals.  

 El-Said explained that the localization process also allows different segments of society to come up with creative, innovative, and targeted solutions related to different aspects of development. 

 

  El-Said noted that Egypt has launched the "National Initiative for Smart Green Projects", which aims to develop a governorate-level investment map for projects related to various aspects of development. 

 The goal is also to obtain the necessary investments to implement these projects, to create an intelligent green movement at the local level, and to locate intelligent climate solutions for development. 

El-Said added that as the localization of sustainable development goals deepens, this will create new opportunities for financial development, as local communities are no longer dependent on government funds, subsidies, and development aid. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It encourages national and local banks and financial institutions to diversify their financial instruments, financial offers, and packages for the new emerging local economy and development process, adding that it is long-term. 

 

 

 This ultimately leads to the localization of financing, enabling the mobilization of local resources and the ability to promote economic growth and achieve the comprehensive development of local communities, which positively reflects the general economy and development of the country and accelerates the implementation of sustainable development. Goals and the 2030 Agenda. 

 

 El-Said concluded by explaining that the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2023 is a new starting point for everyone, not only as an opportunity to assess the progress achieved but also to look holistically at the challenges to achieve comprehensive and sustainable development for all.