Egypt discusses activating $1.2B agreement with UN

CAIRO - 18 July 2018: Minister of Investment and Foreign Cooperation Sahar Nasr, Minister of Planning Hala el-Saeed and Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad discussed Tuesday activating the strategic agreement between Egypt and United Nations to implement development projects worth $1.2 billion until 2022, with Deputy Secretary-General of the UN Amina Mohamed.

The three ministers also discussed supporting the development of Sinai and the region, supporting and developing the sewage and water system, developing the education system, empowering women and social responsibility.

Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Mohamed, praised Egypt’s economic and social reforms, stating that the Egyptian economy and its indicators have improved, noting that Egypt is the second largest country in Africa in terms of rate of foreign direct investment increase.

The three ministers also held a meeting with the heads of the UN economic committees that represent the world’s continents.

The meeting was attended by Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Mohamed Ali al-Hakim, Executive Director of the Economic Commission for Africa Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for South America and the Caribbean Alicia Barcena, and representatives of the United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

The agenda of the meeting included discussing holding a workshop titled "organizational reform in the Egyptian investment field" in cooperation with the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) which includes 18 Arabic countries.

The workshop will be held on August 26-30, aiming at providing participants with the skills and tools necessary to support the start of a regulatory reform in their respective fields.

Regarding the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which includes 54 African countries, the Egyptian delegation discussed with the commission's head the achievement of regional integration among the countries of the continent and the formulation of development assistance programs that contribute to further development of the African continent, especially in terms of infrastructure.

The delegation discussed with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ECOSOC), which includes 53 countries, the cooperation in the fields of investment, development and transport.

Strengthening economic ties between countries in the region and attracting new investments to Egypt were the central points of the discussion held with the 33-nation Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC).

They also agreed with the 56-nation UN Economic Commission for Europe to exchange and apply best practices and economic expertise.

These meetings came on the sidelines of the ministers' participation in the high level forum on sustainable development, organized by the United Nations Development Program.

The UN system is represented by 24 agencies, funds and programmes in Egypt. Each of these operates by working with various partners, including the Government of Egypt (GoE), civil society organizations (CSOs), academia and the private sector, as well as national and international institutions.