UN, Egypt Launch Consultations for New Dev't Cooperation

In a bid to inspire collective action around the open-ended consultative process for the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2027, Egypt’s Ministry of Cooperation in collaboration with UN Egypt launched the second round of consultative meetings with other key stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, development partners, think tanks and academia.

According to a statement released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Cooperation, the meetings aim to put forward a common agenda that provides a powerful vision for a more secure, inclusive, and prosperous future.

Tackling development challenges requires an “all-hands-on-deck” effort that leverages the comparative advantage of every stakeholder, which is why the Ministry of International Cooperation and the United Nations Office in Egypt, as co-chairs of the Joint Steering Committee, held multiple meetings with different components of  Egyptian society, international institutions, think tanks, and research institutions in order to unlock innovative solutions that accelerate progress and boost the capacity and performance of policy implementation, the statement noted.

Over the course of a week, the meetings witnessed the participation of 36 multilateral and bilateral development partners, including the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the European Union, and 38 civil society organizations.

It was emphasized that the balanced participation of civil society and trade union institutions, multilateral and bilateral development partners, the private sector, entrepreneurs, think tanks, and research institutions in all areas of decision-making would foster participatory dialogue, transparency, and sustainable development.

The Minister of International Cooperation, Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, noted that the Ministry launched 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.

In the same vein, she added that “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.”

Referring to the Decent Life Initiative (Hayah Karima), Al-Mashat emphasized 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.

The minister also noted that a draft of the new 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.

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.

“Indeed, development stakeholders – civil society, private sector, international development organizations, and think tanks/academia – provided invaluable inputs and reflections on the catalytic development solutions the United Nations development system in Egypt is offering through the new UNSDCF.”

“The large participation was an acknowledgment of our collective efforts in supporting Egypt’s development priorities with a focus on vulnerable people who are at risk of being left behind,” Panova remarked.