H.E. Rania Al-Mashat Meets UNDP Resident Representative to Discuss Joint Efforts on Economic Development and the Preparation of the New Human Development Report

Joint coordination to advance the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF), the national Monitoring & Evaluation Guideline, and Egypt’s 2026 Voluntary National Review (VNR) on the SDGs

Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen cooperation on evidence-based policymaking, private-sector engagement, and South–South cooperation

H.E. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, met today with Ms. Chitose Noguchi, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Egypt, to discuss ways to deepen future cooperation.

During the meeting, H.E. Al-Mashat highlighted the evolution of the strategic partnership between the Government of Egypt and UNDP over recent years, particularly through successive Country Programmes (CPDs), including the current 2023–2027 programme, which is aligned with Egypt’s national development priorities and supports sustainable development and inclusive, sustainable economic growth.

H.E. Al-Mashat commended UNDP’s efforts in supporting Egypt’s comprehensive and sustainable development agenda through 45 ongoing projects, especially in the areas of climate action, financing for development, digital transformation, clean energy, private sector engagement and SME support, women’s empowerment, institutional capacity development, social protection, and food security.

From her side, the UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt stated:

“We greatly value our ongoing strategic partnership with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, whose dedication and collaboration across key portfolios have been instrumental. UNDP remains fully committed to supporting Egypt in advancing catalytic financing initiatives, particularly the upcoming debt swaps and blended finance under the overall framework of the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF). Together, we are fostering innovative approaches to crowd in private financing and achieve long-term development impact.

We will also continue our work on important portfolios, including Egypt’s upcoming Human Development Report, SDG localization, as well as South-South Cooperation.”

The two sides also discussed the latest progress on preparing Egypt’s new National Human Development Report, as well as the sustainable financing portfolio in light of national strategic priorities, and the potential for UNDP to participate in implementing projects emerging from Egypt’s existing debt-swap programmes.

The meeting also covered updates on Egypt’s 2026 Voluntary National Review (VNR) for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, for which technical discussions are currently underway between both sides. Discussions further addressed Egypt’s interest in joining the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions, in addition to exploring opportunities to scale up clean-energy projects. This includes developments under the national initiative to expand self-consumption solar plants across state-owned industrial facilities.

The talks also underscored mechanisms for operationalizing the Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) and the importance of enhancing the economic role and competitiveness of governorates, building on the 27 SDG Localization Reports jointly released in 2025. They also reviewed progress on workshops being implemented to roll out the National Monitoring & Evaluation Guideline, launched earlier this year by the Ministry and UNDP to establish a unified approach for evaluating development projects, policies, national plans, and more.

Following the meeting, H.E. Al-Mashat and the UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at strengthening institutional capacities across several areas that support inclusive and sustainable economic development. This comes within the Ministry’s broader efforts to advance and support development cooperation between the Arab Republic of Egypt and international, regional, and UN-affiliated organizations, as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners.

H.E. Al-Mashat emphasized that the MoU aims to facilitate and deepen cooperation between both parties in a number of shared priority areas, including evidence-based policymaking, enhancing public–private partnership mechanisms, investing in human capital development, improving living standards in the most vulnerable areas, promoting youth and women’s economic empowerment, and strengthening national capacities for designing and implementing development projects, among other areas.

The UNDP Resident Representative added:

“The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation marks a significant step forward in strengthening institutional capacity and fostering innovative solutions for sustainable development. UNDP looks forward to supporting the Ministry in advancing evidence-based policy formulation, mobilizing private capital, scaling up South-South cooperation, and promoting strategic innovation, ensuring that Egypt gets the needed support in designing and implementing projects that maximize SDG impact and contribute to structural transformation.”

The MoU also seeks to expand the scope of South–South and Triangular Cooperation by enhancing access to technology and innovation, facilitating partnerships and knowledge exchange, and fostering impactful collaborations aimed at sharing Egypt’s leading development experience with African and developing countries. This includes Egypt’s integrated development solutions designed to address shared challenges, along with efforts to strengthen sustainability within business models for SMEs and major state-owned enterprises across various sectors, as well as to track and measure development impact.

H.E. Rania Al-Mashat Meets UNDP Resident Representative