H.E. Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Holds Bilateral Meeting with South African Counterpart During G20 Development Ministerial Meetings

Al-Mashat: Egypt welcomes coordination with South Africa during its G20 Presidency to advance the restructuring of the global financial system and achieve tangible progress in development financing.

Al-Mashat commends South Africa’s efforts in highlighting development challenges facing the African continent.

Egypt and South Africa play a joint role in shaping and steering the sustainable development agenda at the regional and international levels.

The African Continental Free Trade Area is a strategic tool to strengthen economic integration and shared development among African nations.

Both ministers emphasize the importance of expanding infrastructure projects across the continent to drive development, boost competitiveness, and increase manufacturing and trade capacities.

South Africa applauds Egypt’s efforts in advancing development across the continent and promoting South-South cooperation during its presidency of the NEPAD Partnership.

 

 

As part of the Arab Republic of Egypt’s participation in the G20 Development Ministerial Meetings hosted and chaired by the Republic of South Africa in July 2025, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, held a bilateral meeting with H.E. Ms. Maropene Lydia Ramokgopa, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation of South Africa. The meeting aimed to deepen bilateral cooperation and align perspectives on regional and global development issues.

 

At the outset, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat expressed Egypt’s sincere appreciation to the government and people of South Africa for inviting Egypt to take part in the G20 meetings, emphasizing that Egypt has been actively participating in G20 meetings for the past five years. She affirmed Egypt’s continued engagement in international forums to promote global development efforts, highlighting the shared role of Egypt and South Africa as “cornerstones” of Africa in shaping and advancing the sustainable development agenda at both regional and global levels.

 

H.E. Al-Mashat also commended South Africa’s leadership in representing African countries and bringing attention to the development challenges and financing needs of the continent during its historic presidency of the G20.

 

She stressed that the collective efforts of African countries are key to achieving tangible progress on both the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. She underscored the need for continued cooperation to implement Africa’s priorities, particularly in infrastructure, regional integration, digital transformation, and governance.

 

In this context, H.E. Al-Mashat emphasized the strategic importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in fostering economic growth and regional integration. She called for closer cooperation between Egypt and South Africa to support the implementation of the AfCFTA and remove barriers to intra-African trade, in a way that contributes to economic growth and job creation.

 

The meeting also addressed opportunities for enhancing bilateral cooperation in the field of development planning and technical knowledge exchange. H.E. Al-Mashat presented the Ministry’s role in managing and governing public investment and the modernization of development planning under Egypt’s new Planning Law. She also highlighted the implementation of Egypt’s national structural reform program aimed at strengthening macroeconomic stability.

 

Moreover, H.E. Al-Mashat showcased Egypt’s flagship “NWFE” program as a model national platform for mobilizing climate finance, noting its inclusion—along with South Africa’s national climate platform—in the final communiqué of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) held in Seville. She reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination to enable mutual learning between both countries.

 

The two ministers also discussed ways to strengthen coordination and collaboration in multilateral forums to ensure Africa’s interests are represented, promote a more inclusive and equitable global financial system, and enhance the voice of developing countries in international decision-making. They touched on the Cairo–Cape Town Corridor project as a critical route to advance continental integration, linking North and South Africa, and unlocking further development opportunities through private sector engagement. The corridor also facilitates overland transport and cargo movement across the continent.

 

H.E. Al-Mashat reiterated Egypt’s commitment to sustained coordination with South Africa during its G20 presidency, particularly in the areas of green transformation, development financing, and youth and women’s empowerment. She reiterated that enhanced collaboration among leading African nations is essential for advancing progress on both Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

 

She also welcomed the ministerial declaration and outcome communiqué from the G20 Development Ministerial Meetings, which emphasized the need to broaden global social protection systems, combat illicit financial flows, and prioritize domestic resource mobilization as a key mechanism to close development financing gaps—alongside international partnerships and multilateral cooperation. She highlighted the importance of implementing recommendations on debt restructuring for low- and middle-income countries.

 

For her part, H.E. Minister Ramokgopa praised Egypt’s leadership and contributions to advancing development across Africa and amplifying the voice of African countries in global forums. She commended Egypt’s leadership of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), under which it has championed intra-African cooperation, advanced South-South collaboration, and mobilized development financing across the continent. The African Union recently approved Egypt’s continued presidency of NEPAD until February 2026.