Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Rania El-Mashat, met with Ambassador Ib Petersen, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The meeting discussed areas of common cooperation and the role the UNFPA plays in supporting national development efforts towards achieving Egypt’s Vision 2030, according to a minister statement.

The UN and its affiliated agencies and programmes are playing a vital role in supporting the Government of Egypt’s priorities to achieve sustainable development, through the strategic framework of the 2018/2022 partnership between Egypt and the UN, El-Mashat said.

El-Mashat also applauded the UN agencies’ efforts in supporting Egypt’s response plan to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. Especially the role played by the UNFPA as a strategic partner in implementing national policies, such as the National Population Strategy 2015/2030, the implementation of the National Strategy to combat Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) (2014-2018), and supporting the recently launched National Youth Strategy 2021-2026, implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports along with other line ministries.

The minister emphasised Egypt’s commitment to investing in human capital towards supporting development efforts, noting that Egypt has taken further steps towards the development of the Egyptian family, and women empowerment.

The Minister pointed out that women are at the forefront of the national development plans and the government’s reform agenda, which is reflected on the Egyptian family, noting that Egypt was the first country to issue women-specific responses during the COVID-19 pandemic, through a policy paper responding to the needs of women during the pandemic and encompassing 21 measures.

The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2021 report applauded Egypt’s positive steps towards protecting women’s health.

El-Mashat and Elena Panova, the UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt, co-chaired in May the annual meeting of the Steering Committee for the Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) between Egypt and the United Nations for 2018-2022. They reviewed during the meeting the most important achievements and implemented development projects, and discussed new areas of cooperation for the partnership framework in 2023-2027; which supports Egypt’s development vision and is also in line with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

El-Mashat also praised the 2023/2027 partnership with the UNFPA, as it should open new areas of affiliation and partnerships with national authorities, and would contribute to engaging the private sector and civil society in order to support national development efforts.

The Ministry of International Cooperation is working towards developing relations with multilateral and bilateral development partners through its three principles of Economic Diplomacy, Multi Stakeholders Platform, ODA SDG Mapping, and the Global Partnerships Narrative that puts “People at Core”, “Projects in Action,” and “Purpose as the Driver,” El-Mashat added.

For his part, Petersen applauded the Ministry of International Cooperation’s role in enhancing joint cooperation with the UN, its agencies, and programmes, expressing his aspiration to expand partnerships between the Government of Egypt and the UNFPA.