Egypt’s Minister of Planning, Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, participated in the preparatory meeting for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). FfD4 will take place in Spain in June 2025. The event is hosted by the Spanish Government in collaboration with several international bodies, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), UNICEF, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the European Union, as well as Italy, Spain, and Sweden. The purpose of this preparatory meeting was to highlight the integration of national financing frameworks with other strategies led by countries, and to promote enhanced coordination between investment plans and policy frameworks.
During her speech, Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized the urgent need for a more inclusive and just international vision to address development challenges, particularly the ones faced by developing countries. These challenges include rising poverty rates, increasing debt burdens, and geopolitical instability. She pointed out that while eradicating multidimensional poverty is both an urgent and universal need, it is also a critical enabler that strengthens global efforts to ensure no one is left behind. Dr. Al-Mashat also noted the concerning rise in debt service costs for developing countries, which have increased by more than 50% between 2022 and 2025. This sharp increase has significantly limited the financial space required for sustainable investments.
In this context, Dr. Al-Mashat highlighted the stark contrast between the global wealth exceeding $460 trillion and the difficulty in mobilizing even a small fraction of this wealth to close the $4 trillion annual financing gap for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). She emphasized that only 17% of the SDGs are currently on track, underscoring the need for solidarity and integrated approaches to drive a just transition. Furthermore, global growth expectations remain fragile, with predictions of just 3.3% growth, well below the historical average of 3.7%. This disparity between advanced and emerging economies highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions and robust international cooperation to close the gap and promote equitable progress.
In her address, Dr. Al-Mashat affirmed the necessity of restructuring international financial institutions and implementing radical reforms in the global financial system to adapt to the changing dynamics and challenges faced by countries. She emphasized that such reforms are crucial to ensuring the sustainability of development financing flows. Dr. Al-Mashat also pointed to the importance of national platforms as integrated mechanisms that facilitate coordination among stakeholders, resources, and priorities, thereby enhancing both efficiency and impact. In this regard, she referenced Egypt’s “National Water, Food, and Energy (NWFE)” platform, which aims to accelerate the country’s climate action agenda and mobilize private financing and investments to support Egypt’s green transition. This platform is an example of the successful integration of climate action and development efforts, which highlights the fundamental role of public-private partnerships in achieving economic development.
Furthermore, Dr. Al-Mashat outlined the launch of Egypt’s National Strategy for Financing for Development, an integrated framework developed in collaboration with the European Union and UNDP. This strategy, which was presented at the Summit of the Future in September 2024, aligns with the need to incentivize the SDGs and addresses the immediate actions required to protect the 2030 Agenda. The strategy focuses on a unified approach to development financing, integrating both public and private investments, strengthening policy coherence, enhancing transparency and accountability, and providing a structured framework to address financing and development gaps. Additionally, the strategy prioritizes projects that have the greatest economic, social, and environmental impact.
In addition, Dr. Al-Mashat highlighted Egypt’s efforts to expand innovative financing mechanisms, such as the debt swap programs implemented with Italy and Germany. She also referred to the launch of Egypt’s “Economic Growth Catalyst” initiative, which was introduced in partnership with the World Economic Forum on the sidelines of the annual meetings in Davos. This initiative aims to unlock new economic opportunities, mobilize private investments, and accelerate sustainable development projects in Egypt.
In conclusion, Dr. Al-Mashat emphasized that global events such as the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), the SDG Summits, and upcoming COP Conferences provide critical opportunities to directly address these pressing challenges. She stressed the importance of these events as a starting point toward establishing a more just and efficient global financial system. Additionally, Dr. Al-Mashat underscored the urgency of accelerating multilateral bank reforms to mobilize more sustainable development financing, including innovative mechanisms like concessional financing and debt-for-climate swaps, which are essential for countries in need of such solutions.
