Al Mashat Meets UNDP Director, German Economic Cooperation, Development State Secretary

During the activities of UNGA78 in New York, Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, held two meetings with the Minister of State in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Jochen Flasbarth, and the Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner, in an effort to strengthen joint relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners and following up on development cooperation programs being implemented.

Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation, with the German Minister of State, discussed joint development cooperation efforts in light of the close Egyptian-German relations, especially enhancing cooperation in implementing energy pillar projects within the Nexus for Water, Food and Energy Platform, the NWFE Program to advance the pace of the transition to clean energy in Egypt, applauding the completion of the debt swap agreement with a value of €54 million to support the program following the approval of the update of the NDCs in Egypt last June, which included the goal of increasing the proportion of identified energy to 42% by 2030 instead of 2035.

The meeting included a discussion of future development cooperation projects and programs in light of what was agreed upon in the Egyptian-German round of government negotiations at the end of last year, during which 16 development projects were agreed upon in the sectors of education and vocational training, supporting innovation in the private sector, energy efficiency, and other priority sectors.

Moreover, Al-Mashat met with the Director of UNDP, Achim Steiner and discussed joint efforts between the government and the program to enhance entrepreneurship and digital innovation, stimulate women’s empowerment efforts, and partnerships in light of the implementation of the Egyptian Initiative for Integrated Development (ENID); aligning these efforts with the presidential initiative for developing the Egyptian countryside, “Haya Karima,” in addition to discussing the program’s role in supporting those affected by the Sudanese crisis.

She also discussed cooperation with UNDP, in light of stimulating South-South cooperation through the academy that was relaunched in April of last year, with the aim of benefiting from the pioneering Egyptian experience in the field of development cooperation, and the projects implemented with international partners, in various development sectors, and experiences accumulated over decades, in strengthening cooperation between the countries of the South and triangular cooperation, to transfer expertise and experiences in a way that enhances integration between developing countries, emerging economies, and countries of the African continent.