Planning Ministry partakes in 3rd global workshop on Voluntary National Review for 2021

The Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, represented by the Sustainable Development Unit, participated in the third global virtual workshop for countries that submitted Voluntary National Reviews (VNR) for the year 2021.
This comes as part of the final ongoing preparations that Egypt is making to present its third VNR at the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2021.

Sherif Daoud, Deputy Head of the Sustainable Development Unit; Aya Nawwar, Associate Head of the Sustainable Development Unit; Lauraine Habib, Senior Policy Analyst in the Unit; Alia Khaled, Policy Analyst in the Unit; and Nada Yaqoub, Economic Researcher at the Unit participated in the workshop.
During the workshop, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) presented an overview of the program of the high-level political forum and the arrangements for presentations of VNRs during the forum.
UN DESA also showcased the online platform for accelerating the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG Acceleration Actions) and how countries submit their initiatives during the VNR presentations.
In the same context, the initiatives presented by Egypt were commended on the platform, such as the "Decent Life" initiative, and the state's efforts and measures taken to develop slums to secure safe housing for all Egyptians.
During the workshop, UN DESA praised the participation of Egypt, the international community, in its third VNR, outlining the steps for the success of the National Economic and Social Reform Program.
Egypt's National Economic and Social Reform Program aims to lay the foundations for a more resilient economy and a society capable of withstanding unexpected shocks such as the coronavirus pandemic. The attendees also praised the Egyptian experience in achieving sustainable development goals at the local level.
Representatives of the Sustainable Development Unit indicated that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development will represent Egypt in presenting the third VNR  on Monday, July 12, at the high-level political forum.
The unit will also organize an event on the sidelines of the forum on “How the localizing the sustainable development goals contributes to leaving none behind", which is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 8, 2021.

The workshop focused on clarifying the general expectations of the VNR presentations at the 2021 HLPF, including the content of the presentations, how to use visual elements and other supporting means, the format, and technical requirements for live presentations during the forum, and what are the procedures for sending presentations.
It also guided scenarios for presentations to be prepared together with UN DESA's VNR Focal Points.
It is worth noting that the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development had sent its third VNR on the specified date, corresponding to June 11, to the United Nations.