Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation Participates in UN Women Event on Adopting Women's Empowerment Principles for a More Sustainable Private Sector

The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation participated in the event organized by UN Women in Egypt titled "Adopting Women's Empowerment Principles for a More Sustainable and Inclusive Private Sector." The event included participation from the National Council for Women, the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones, the Korea International Cooperation Agency, and representatives from Canada.

 

In this context, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, emphasized that women's empowerment is a key focus area in cooperation with multilateral development partners. H.E. Dr. Al-Mashat added that several programs are being implemented directly to achieve women's empowerment objectives, in addition to integrating it as a sub-goal in numerous projects across various development sectors including water, agricultural and rural development, among others. H.E. Minister Al-Mashat further stated that the government places significant emphasis on economically and socially empowering women, recognizing their pivotal role as participants in development efforts aimed at fostering comprehensive and sustainable growth.

 

The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation had previously launched, in collaboration with the National Council for Women and the World Economic Forum, the "Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator" in July 2020. This initiative serves as a national model for public-private sector collaboration in women's empowerment, contributing to governments and companies taking decisive actions to close economic gender gaps and increase women's participation in the workforce. Egypt is noted as the first country in Africa and the Middle East to launch such a Gender Gap Accelerator initiative.

 

During the event, the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation reviewed the goals of the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator, which aims to enhance women's economic empowerment through a 10-pillar action plan addressing all gaps in the private sector and removing obstacles faced by women in their daily professional lives. These pillars align with the UN Women's Women's Empowerment Principles and the UN Global Compact.

 

The Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation also highlighted its commitment to elevating national priorities by building effective development partnerships with all multilateral development partners and the private sector, aimed at achieving comprehensive and sustainable economic development, while empowering and supporting Egyptian women across various fields.

 

It is worth noting that the participation of the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation in this event reflects Egypt's governmental efforts in the field of women's empowerment, a strategic priority intertwined with Egypt Vision 2030 and several sectoral and national development strategies governing joint development cooperation between Egypt and its development and multilateral partners, such as the Egypt-UN Strategic Partnership Framework for Sustainable Development Cooperation for the period 2023-2027.