OECD: Africa Needs More Funds to Achieve Sustainable Dev't

The second day of the “Egypt - International Cooperation Forum (ICF): Engaging for Impact”, kicked off on Thursday.

The forum, organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation, took place amid the attendance of high-level international and regional participation including Egypt’s Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, and Minister of International Cooperation Rania A. Al-Mashat.

The event was also attended by high-level participation of government representatives from African Ministers and policymakers, and Presidents of international financial institutions.

Bilateral and multilateral development partners’ representatives, think tanks, the private sector, and international and regional research centers, also took part in the forum.

During his speech, Jeffrey Schlagenhauf, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), remarked that the development financing obtained by Africa is deemed insufficient to achieve sustainable development, especially in the countries suffering from a sundry of difficulties.

Schlagenhof noted that Africa received a grant of $41.4 billion in the period between 2018-2019, however, these funds have proven insufficient when measured against the continent’s multitude of needs.

He further stressed the need to mobilize international funds to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to catalyze the much-needed private sector investments and in commending multilateralism, which proved its effectiveness during the pandemic.

Schlagenhoff noted that the perpetuation of this cooperation will be crucial for achieving full recovery from the pandemic.

The inaugural edition of the "Egypt – ICF" is taking place in Cairo on September 8 and 9, under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi.