Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad on Wednesday met Bassel Al Khatib, the regional representative for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), to discuss biodiversity conservation and energy projects.
During the meeting, which took place via videoconferencing, Fouad noted the importance of Egypt’s partnership with UNIDO in implementing projects that achieve industrial sector energy efficiency, and which mitigate the effects of climate change.
The Ministry of Environment and UNIDO are also cooperating on the integration of biodiversity conservation in industry. This represents one of the axes under the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP14), which Egypt currently chairs.
The virtual meeting discussed the mechanisms of implementing a new project on sustainability to link climate change, biological diversity and waste in Hurghada, located on Egypt’s Red Sea coast. The project will be funded by the Global Environment Facility.
Moreover, the meeting also dealt with projects that are implemented through the UNIDO regional office, which includes those implemented in cooperation with the organisation in Egypt.
Fouad said that the Egyptian government is about to sign a partnership programme agreement with UNIDO. There are also projects that are being coordinated between the two sides, such as the project for limiting the use of single-use plastic items.
The minister noted that Egypt is one of the countries that is benefiting from Green Climate Fund financing, especially in environmental and energy projects.
