Egypt reviews efforts in sustainable development: UFM Summit

CAIRO - 14 May 2017: Achieving sustainable development goals in Euro-Mediterranean region requires intensifying cooperation in several fields, Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal said in his speech at the fourth summit of the Union for the Mediterranean (UFM) in Rome on Friday.

During the summit entitled “Sustainable Development in Euro-Mediterranean Region,” Abdel Aal stressed that unemployment, illegal immigration and terrorism are the obstacles facing our societies, which should be confronted by a comprehensive developmental perspective, considering economic, security, political, human rights and geographical dimensions.

“Overcoming poverty, developing education, training and providing job opportunities for youth are essential to eliminate those problems,” Abdel Aal said, affirming that terrorism all over the world is one of the major challenges against sustainable development. This is in addition to the political, armed conflicts in the Middle East, like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and wars in Syria and Libya.

“Egypt is not isolated from the global efforts to achieve sustainable development goals,” he added, stressing that the Egyptian Constitution explicitly states that their requirements must be met.

Abdel Aal headed to Italy on Thursday to take part in the fourth summit of the UFM, held in Rome for three days.

The UFM includes speakers of the Egyptian, Italian, European and Turkish parliaments.