DURING HLPF 2023 ACTIVITIES IN NY:THE MINISTER OF PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS DISCUSSING WAYS OF COOPERATION WITH THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR THE ARAB STATES
H.E. Dr. Hala El-Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, met with Mr. Abdullah Al-Dardari, Regional Director of the United Nations Development Program for the Arab States to explore cooperation.
This is on the sidelines of its participation in the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2023, which is being held in New York under the slogan "Accelerating recovery from Covid-19 and fully implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at all levels."
The meeting witnessed the presence of Dr. Ahmed Kamali, Deputy Minister of Planning, Dr. Mona Essam, Assistant Minister for Sustainable Development Affairs, Ambassador Osama Abdel Khalek, Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York, Ms. Alia Khaled, Senior Policy Analyst at the Sustainable Development Unit at the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, members of Egypt's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, and Mr. Alessandro Fracasti, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Egypt.
During the meeting, Dr. Hala El-Said stressed the importance the Ministry of Planning attaches to its partnership with the United Nations Development Program in the various fields of cooperation currently underway. She referred to cooperation in the Human Development Report 2023 and the steps and workshops in this regard.
El-Said indicated that Egypt is currently focusing on implementing sustainable development goals at the governorate level, pointing to the ministry's efforts in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program in organizing the side event "Mainstreaming local voluntary reports to accelerate the 2030 plan and achieve SDGs," which took place during the activities of the high-level political forum, to present the Egyptian experience in preparing local voluntary reports.
El-Said explained that workshops were held in Fayoum, Beheira, and Port Said to collect the data included in the report. These workshops were held in consultation with stakeholders.
"Cooperation is currently underway to finalize the second edition of the Sustainable Development Goals localization reports. These reports cover 27 governorates and their territories," she added.
During the meeting, they discussed the desire of the United Nations Development Program to cooperate with the Ministry of Planning on building the capabilities of medium-sized companies to obtain financing from banks effectively, as this is done by working on supply and demand from banks and medium-sized companies.