H.E. Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, called upon the international community to unite and spark a “green recovery.”
Speaking on the first day of the inaugural Egypt International Cooperation Forum (Egypt – ICF), launched by the Ministry of International Cooperation, taking place in Cairo between 8-9 September, El-Sisi said: “No government alone can make this recovery possible. It requires the support of the international community and financial institutions to achieve the UN SDGs.”
Also at the event, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, said: “This is a unique opportunity for Egypt to reset global priorities and place sustainability at the core of economic development.”
“We launched the Egypt – ICF to provide a global platform to catalyze international cooperation as we rebuild from the pandemic. By increasing multi-stakeholder engagement and cooperation, we can pave the way for more inclusive, greener, and more resilient economies that work for everyone.”
Later at the event, during a panel on multilateralism, Solomon Quaynor, the African Development Bank’s (AfDB) Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialization said: “Egypt is uniquely positioned to be a regional hub for vaccine production.”
“A successful vaccination campaign [in Africa] could help realize the benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area – a single market with 1.2 billion people and $3.4 trillion in gross domestic product.”
During a panel that addressed the urgent need to unlock international development funds, Jorge Moreira da Silva, Director OECD Development Co-operation Directorate said: “It is critical to mobilize one percent of US$379 trillion. But it cannot be done without a holistic approach. It is important to emphasize the role of multilateralism.”
In a panel session dedicated to combatting climate change, Mr. Selwin Charles Hart, Special Adviser and Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action Panelists, described the world as being on a “climate cliff” as it gets dangerously close to not meeting the 1.5 degrees Celsius Paris Agreement goal, if “we don’t take ambitious action now.”
The Forum also heard from H.E. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Egypt’s Minister of Environment, who said: “Climate change is not an environmental challenge. Climate challenge is a developmental challenge. It hits hard all development processes. It doesn’t differentiate between a rich, poor or developing country.”
