Al-Mashat: We Seek to Strengthen Economic Diplomacy to Foster Partnerships

Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat asserted that the ministry seeks to apply the principles of economic diplomacy to serve human ends and goals and foster purposeful and meaningful partnerships that implement developmental projects that are in line with the 17 goals of sustainable development.

Al-Mashat was speaking during a symposium organized by the Canadian-Egyptian Business Council and the Egyptian Business Council for International Cooperation, according to a statement released by the ministry on Thursday.

Al-Mashat explained that the role of the Ministry of International Cooperation is to develop and strengthen economic cooperation relations between Egypt and international and regional organizations and monitor national agencies that benefit from foreign financing to ensure achievement of the sustainable development goals.

The minister added that the ministry has been doing this through three key principles in economic diplomacy: multi-stakeholder platforms, global partnerships narrative, and Sustainable Development (SDG) mapping.

The first principle includes the “Global Partnerships for Effective Development Cooperation” multi-stakeholder platform, which aims to build stronger partnerships through regular interactive and participatory consultations with all development partners. The platforms, which include more than 100 participants, ensure that all development interventions are harmonized and streamlined under one umbrella and a common goal.

[caption id="attachment_148859" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Dr. Al-Mashat Speaks during The Symposium[/caption]

The second principle is through adopting a consistent Global Partnerships Narrative: People, Projects, and Purpose (P&P&P) to showcase successful development stories to mobilize and create awareness, as well as communicate with partners and other stakeholders in society to achieve sustained development.

In the context of this, a weekly newsletter was launched, which began in June 2020, to all multilateral and bilateral development partners to highlight development stories in Egypt, and to involve them in Egypt's development story and steps to implement the national development agenda.

The third principle is SDG mapping, which helps to monitor the progress and contribution of development cooperation projects with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Al-Mashat referred to Kamama initiative as a successful model of collaboration, which included international institutions represented by the United Nations Development Program and civil society organizations through the Al-Nida Foundation, the Alternative Finance Lab (AltFinLab), with the aim of empowering women in Upper Egypt economically and protecting them from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Al-Mashat affirmed that the state is keen to ensure that the external debt does not exceed limits, and for this, a committee was formed that includes all concerned parties, whether international, financial, or the central bank, headed by the premier, that reviews and follows up all agreements, to ensure that the limits of debt are not exceeded. She pointed out that the ongoing cooperation portfolio with development partners amounts to about $25 billion.