Al-Mashat: WEF Provides Unique Platform for Potential Leaders

Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania Al-Mashat said on Monday the World Economic Forum (WEF) provides a unique platform for exchange between young potential leaders from all over the world who advocate for change and reform in different disciplines.

Al-Mashat's remarks came in her message of cooperation and public-private collaboration in the World Economic Forum’s 2020 report, highlighting the forum’s activities and initiatives she took part in to push Egypt’s development forward.

Underlining the persity and multidisciplinary nature of the Forum, Al-Mashat added that this enabled her to engage with the Forum through several ways, from advisor to the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund, to Egypt’s minister of tourism and now international cooperation, as well as participating in sessions, moderating panels and joining various stewardship boards.

“The most relevant and contemporary global topics shaping the political economy of policy-making are highlighted, debated, and discussed in an open exchange between public, private, and civil society stakeholders,” Al-Mashat stated.

[caption id="attachment_197013" align="aligncenter" width="726"] Dr. Al-Mashat's Message to WEF[/caption]

The statement highlighted the minister’s activities with the Forum in 2020, referring to her role in pushing forward the agenda of ‘Principles of Stakeholder Capitalism’ to design sustainable and inclusive solutions for the region and highlight the importance of public-private partnerships.

She also partnered with the World Economic Forum to advance the national and global gender agenda in Egypt by launching the Closing the Gender Gap Accelerator initiative in collaboration with the National Council for Women, which helped Egypt become the first country to do this in the Middle East and Africa, noting that it is “an important game-changer.”

Al-Mashat also joined the Equality and Inclusion Stewardship Board, which brought together representatives from the public and private sectors, international organizations and academic institutions to shape a policy agenda that reflects the changing global dynamics and addresses the implications the COVID-19 had on certain groups and minorities.

In her conclusion, she underscored the opportunity to “do things differently” and uphold the spirit of multi-stakeholder cooperation through public and private sectors, which is essential to “building bridges and reshaping the future.”

According to the annual report by the Ministry of International Cooperation in 2020, the ministry secured development financing agreements worth $9.8 billion during the year; $6.7 billion for financing sovereign projects, and $3.1 billion in support of the private sector.