How Egypt Helps UN Achieve Its SDGs

Egypt remains committed to implementing the global goals (SDGs) as it prepares for the upcoming round of the UN Climate Change Conference that will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh, in November 2022.

The North African and Middle East country has a coordinating council on sustainable development that serves as an open platform for discussion across various targets of SDGs –  Human life, Food Safety, Prosperity, Peace, Environment, and Partnerships – involving all stakeholders.

Since then, Egyptians and UN Country Team have made significant progress in promoting the SDGs, including measures for targeted social support of the population, a comprehensive national strategy to finance projects in SDGs, and efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2060.

During the past four years, United Nations Development Program (UNDP) partnered with European and international funding institutions on new initiatives to create a multi-stakeholder SDGs platform.

As part of their strategies to promote SDGs, the Egyptian government alongside UN Egypt launched several extensive consultations for the new development cooperation framework in May 2021, which included the participation of more than 30 national bodies and around 28 United Nations agencies.

The platform brought together thousands of stakeholders from the public and private sectors, national and local levels to facilitate dialogue that will support efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda, UNDP said.

On her part, the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, Elena Panova, mentioned that the participatory and inclusive stakeholder consultations are important milestones in developing the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-2027.

According to the Egyptian authorities, the participation of research and academic bodies is an important and main link not only in the chain of consultations, but at the level of implementation, maximizing impact and sustainability.”

Another significant achievement is the Presidential Decent Life Initiative (Hayah Karima), in which the government emphasized in April the importance of the international community in promoting the principle of a “decent life” and benefiting from the Egyptian experience in reaching the most vulnerable groups in order to achieve integration and inclusion in development processes.

In addition to the above mentioned, the Egyptian side noted that a draft of the 2030 strategy is expected to be finalized later this month, which will represent a blueprint for the partnership’s new strategic framework that capitalizes on the UN’s comparative advantages in tackling developmental challenges through innovative solutions.

It's worth mentioning that Egypt is among 10 countries worldwide that is submitting its third VNR this year. While the first was submitted in 2016, following the launching of the national sustainable development strategy “Egypt vision 2030." – The second VNR presented in 2018 marked the successful implementation of the economic stabilization and reform program.