Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, alongside London School of Economics, Officially Launch the First Book Documenting the Experience of the Arab Republic of Egypt in the Field of International Cooperation and Development Financing
Al-Mashat: The book consolidates Egypt’s principles of economic diplomacy and highlights its role in enhancing multilateral cooperation and pushing towards achieving sustainable development
Launching the book in the presence of several eminent international economic figures and institutions reflects Egypt’s pioneering experience in international cooperation; and the collaboration with the London School of Economics gives the book an international dimension and enables developing countries to learn from Egypt’s experience in implementing modern sustainable development methodologies.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al- Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, in collaboration with London School of Economics, launched the book tilted: “Stakeholder Engagement Through Economic Diplomacy” via an international event that brought together Ms. Minouche Shafik, Director of the London School of Economics; Ms. Carmen Reinhart, Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Professor at Harvard University; and Mr. Eric Berglöf, Chief Economist at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank; along with representatives from the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and many other international financial institutions.
The book that was launched today by H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, and Mrs. Randa Hamza, Assistant Minister of International Cooperation for Planning and Monitoring, is a one-of-a-kind publication documenting Egypt's experience in international cooperation and development financing.
Al-Mashat said during a press conference after the book launch, that the book documents the pioneering experience of Egypt in launching a government-led framework for economic diplomacy based on three pillars, aimed at advancing international cooperation mechanisms to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). The book further details different methodologies for mapping the allocation of the Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Minister of International Cooperation added that the book tackles the means of implementing these methodologies through the ODA-SDG map available on the Ministry’s website, allowing developing and emerging countries to benefit from the Egyptian experience.
Al-Mashat explained that the launch of the book through the London School of Economics, one of the oldest economic research universities in the world, and with the participation of eminent economic figures, reflects the unique Egyptian approach that applies global methodologies on the national level using national expertise. The Minister elaborated that this experience was reinforced through the efforts made in cooperation with the International Financial Institutions (IFIS) to advance both the national and global sustainability targets.
Al-Mashat stated that the Ministry of International Cooperation is careful to base the principles of international cooperation and development financing on clear scientific foundations, and to implement them using national expertise in order to ensure the effectiveness of these efforts in realizing Egypt’s Vision 2030, and optimizing the impact of multilateral and bilateral partnerships.
H.E. Al-Mashat pointed out that global economic references and literature - including Lee & Hocking, 2010; and Pigman, 2005 - highlighted the importance of economic diplomacy mechanisms in fostering economic, social and political relations. In addition, they underscored the vital role of stakeholders, such as governments, development partners, civil society, and the private sector; while emphasizing the need for cooperation to promote and advance mutual interests towards achieving global solidarity.
Al-Mashat noted “the Ministry of International Cooperation launched Egypt’s principles of economic diplomacy in order to harness the socio-economic outcomes of development financing, as well as to ensure that development projects are in line with national priorities and the UN SDGs, and finally to improve the mechanisms of development cooperation to implement projects effectively”. She further reiterated that “Egypt’s economic diplomacy rests on three principles: Multi Stakeholder Platforms, ODA-SDG Mapping, and Global Partnerships Narrative”.
The Minister of International Cooperation said that the world underwent great challenges during the past year due to the perils of the Covid-19 pandemic; these challenges highlighted the pivotal role of international cooperation as one of the main sources of financing development, and as a framework for global economic integration and solidarity. Hence, the framework of economic diplomacy seeks to enhance the participation of stakeholders in formulating priorities and pushing Egypt’s efforts towards achieving Egypt’s Vision 2030, in line with the 17 UN SDGs.
It is worth noting that, last week, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, presented to H.E. the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the efforts invested in curating the content of the book in order to document Egypt’s pioneering experience in international cooperation and development financing, crafting a model for other emerging and developing countries; especially that Egypt one of the few countries that were able to stay the course in the implementation of the sustainability targets, mitigating the socioeconomic challenges in the last few years.
The book can be downloaded in English from the London School of Economics website through the following link:
https://www.lse.ac.uk/africa/Assets/Documents/Stakeholder-Engagement-through-Economic-Diplomacy.pdf
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