DURING HLPF 2023 ACTIVITIES IN NY:THE MINISTER OF PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MEETS WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with Ms. Lachezara Stoeva, President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, to discuss cooperation.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of HLPF 2023 from 10 to 19 July 2023 in New York. It was under the theme ‘Accelerating the recovery from Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels’.
The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Mr. Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek, Permanent Representative of Egypt to New York, and members of the Egyptian delegation.
"This meeting is pivotal as we approach the Sustainable Development Goals Summit next September. It poses a wide range of development challenges and provides an excellent opportunity to radically change course in the middle of the road to the 2030 Agenda," El-Said said.
She referred to the Global Sustainable Development Report. This provides a major analytical review of the state of sustainable development goals implementation at the global level.
El-Said reviewed Egypt's efforts to achieve sustainable development, as it was one of the leading countries that developed a national strategy for sustainable development in line with Agenda 2030 and Africa's Agenda 2063.
El-Said pointed out that Egypt has submitted 3 voluntary reports for sustainable development to measure the progress made in achieving the goals of sustainable development, as the priorities of the Egyptian state through Egypt’s Vision 2030 are to achieve sustainable development, promote comprehensive economic growth, ensure efficient use of natural resources, and protect the environment through a green and circular economy.
El-Said referred to Egypt's efforts to localize the sustainable development goals and launched 27 reports to localize the sustainable development goals in the governorates, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund.
These reports aim to document the progress and current status of implementing sustainable development goals in each governorate. As indicated in these reports, Egypt presents its voluntary local reports for Beheira, Fayoum, and Port Said this year.
The state is also working on developing innovative mechanisms for financing sustainable development goals, pointing out that the Egyptian government, in cooperation with the Arab League and the United Nations, launched the first comprehensive national report on financing sustainable development to give an objective classification of development financing in Egypt.
El-Said pointed out that Egypt is hosting the "Cairo Center for the Localization of Sustainable Development Goals" in cooperation with the United Nations Human Settlements Program (Habitat) and the United Nations Development Program under the umbrella of the International Alliance (Local 2030), which comes as one of the most prominent ongoing projects.
For her part, the President of the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations praised Egypt for submitting, as one of the few countries, 3 voluntary national reports for sustainable development, and stressed the importance of re-commitment to the UN's sustainable development goals at the Sustainable Development Goals Summit.
She also praised Egypt's organization of the COP27 Climate Change Conference. She also praised its agreement to establish a Loss and Damage Fund to support developing and poor countries affected by climate change.
The meeting also discussed sustainable development challenges, including information, financing, population increase, and governance. The significant role of stakeholders in sustainable development processes and working to create an environment aware of sustainable development goals was emphasized.