UN’s briefing session took place at the headquarters in New York to showcase Egypt’s efforts in adopting the UN’s Resident Representative system t since the launch of the United Nations Secretary-General’s vision for the development and reform of the UN system in 2017 for propelling sustainability efforts towards achieving SDGs and the 2030 Agenda.
The virtual session’s attendees were the Minister of International Cooperation and. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, who also acts as the Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Strategic Framework for Partnership between Egypt and the United Nations for Cooperation for Sustainable Development, UN’s Resident Coordinator in Egypt and Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Strategic Framework, Elena Panova, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York, Amb. Osama Abdel-Khalek, and Director of the Climate, Environment and Sustainable Development Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amb. Mohamed Nasr.
The session was moderated by interim Deputy Head of the United Nations Development Coordination Office (DCO) Rosemary Kalapurakal, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair Development Coordination Office Fernandez Taranco as well as permanent representatives of many member states to the UN.
The session shed light on the UN Resident Representative system in Egypt, which coordinates the activities of the UN implemented in Egypt through various specialized UN agencies and programs, namely 26 specialized UN agencies in addition to non-resident agencies, which are implemented in cooperation with the Government of Egypt and accordance with the national priorities for development, to enhance the path of achieving SDGs and Egypt’s vision 2030.
In her video intervention, Al-Mashat said that the national development goals of each country are closely linked to the UN SDGs, so the national development strategies in Egypt and Vision 2030 reflect Egypt’s commitment to achieving the global goals, pointing out that there is continuous communication and full coordination with the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt to enhance work with national authorities and development partners to advance development efforts and meet their requirements continuously, taking into account international and regional changes in the development scene.
In her capacity as co-chair of the Steering Committee for the Strategic Framework for Partnership with the United Nations, Al-Mashat reviewed the experience of preparing Egypt – United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF), recently launched in the presence of Egypt’s Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, highlighting the efforts and coordination that have been made between UN agencies, national bodies, development partners, the private sector and civil society to develop this document.
pointed to the importance of the partnership with the UN in setting cooperation priorities for the next five years, to enhance the development process in Egypt and its pursuit of achieving the 2030 SDGs, explaining that the launch of the partnership document in the presence of H.E. The Prime Minister and all relevant ministers and relevant parties reflect its importance and role in advancing development efforts in various fields.
“There were continuous discussions and meetings at the technical level, the level of decision-makers and policymakers, and we were able to maintain women’s empowerment as a main pillar within the partnership with the UN in response to the national strategy for empowering women and enhancing their economic and social role, in addition to adding the governance pillar, which is one of the most important outputs of the multilateral consultations for more organized international support and a more sustainable developmental impact.”, She
Al-Mashat noted that continuous coordination with the UN, and constant consideration of local and international changes, especially the crises that the world is suffering from in the current period, adding that in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we were able to rearrange priorities and direct project resources to meet the needs of the health sector, provision of vaccines, and support for the country’s efforts to tackle the pandemic through the country’s preparedness, response plan, the socio-economic response and recovery plan.
She applauded the UN Resident Coordinator system and its role in enhancing communication and achieving flexibility in responding to the priorities and requirements of development in the country, referring to the efforts made by the United Nations during COP27, strengthening efforts with all international institutions and development partners to push forward the climate action session, and the opportunity provided by the conference in Sharm El-Sheikh to advance climate action and demonstrate Egypt’s efforts with the international community in going from pledges to implementation.
In the same context, she also discussed the partnership with UN officials, the ongoing discussions about stimulating just financing, and the launch of the “Sharm El-Sheikh Guidebook for Just Financing” during COP27.
Al-Mashat also thanked the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova, and the UN agencies that collaboratively issued the guide, for their support through the various international contributions to launch the guidebook during the activities of the Finance Day at COP27.
Al-Mashat concluded her speech by stressing the importance of the Resident Coordinator System, and that the participatory process that took place between Egypt, the UN, and relevant parties to launch the partnership for the next five years is a practical example of the positive impact of the resident representative system in coordinating and unifying the efforts of 26 UN agencies to come up with a comprehensive and integrated framework that meets national priorities.
Moreover, H.E. referred to the field visits that took place within the activities of the “Egypt UN Week” to show what projects have been implemented on the ground in the previous partnership that ended in 2022.
H.E. pointed out that Egypt will host the activities of the 12th World Urban Forum in November next year, which is the second largest international conference after COP27, pointing to Egypt’s keenness to make the conference a success, like COP27.
The session moderator commented on the speech of the Minister of International Cooperation, where she congratulated Egypt on preparing the UNSDCF with the UN for the next five years, stressing that the UN promotes SDGs by responding to the priorities of various governments.
For her part, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova, expressed her happiness for the continuous cooperation and coordination with the Government of Egypt and the launch of the partnership. She thanked Al-Mashat and officials in various government agencies for facilitating the work of the UN in Egypt.
Panova continued, “The launch ceremony of the UNSDCF between Egypt and the UN 2023-2027 was distinguished, and we were honored by the presence of H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly. It was a historic moment for us that strengthened the close partnership with Egypt for the next five years.”
Al-Mashat stated that 26 international agencies and programs had signed the partnership for the next five years and that this number of agencies reflects the size of the multi-sectoral partnership with the Government of Egypt, explaining that the task of coordination and preparation for this framework has not been easy over the past years.
The Deputy Permanent Representative of Morocco, Omar Kadiri, commented, stressing the importance of the briefing session as a clear testimony to the efforts that Egypt is undertaking in the areas of economic and social development and the participation of civil society and relevant parties, applauding Egypt’s pioneering role in organizing COP27 on behalf of African and developing countries and stressing the importance of innovative financing mechanisms to address climate change.
Amb. Osama Abdel Khalek, in his closing remarks, stated that the Egyptian experience proves the important impact of the Resident Representative system, and it represents a clear way to practice development work with the support of the UN, which represents a wealth of knowledge and resilience. He also announced this year’s Future Summit, which is evidence proving the UN’s reform system, urging the necessity of sharing Egypt’s successful experiences with other African and developing countries.
