The Ministry of International Cooperation and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a coordination platform on Sustainable Development Solutions for South-South Cooperation on Monday.
The platform’s activities were inaugurated by Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and Alessandro Fracassetti — the Resident Representative of the UNDP in Egypt.
The event included the virtual participation of more than 60 representatives from governments and multilateral and bilateral development partners, including the World Food Programme, the Islamic Development Bank, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Climate Investment Funds Foundation, and the African Development Bank, in addition to work teams from both sides.
The platform aims to enhance discussions between the government — represented by the international cooperation ministry — the UNDP, and multilateral and bilateral development partners on benefiting from the leading Egyptian experience in the field of development cooperation, projects implemented with international partners in various development sectors, and expertise accumulated over decades in strengthening South-South and triangular cooperation to transfer expertise and experience in a manner that enhances integration between developing countries, emerging economies, and countries of the African continent.
In her speech, Al-Mashat stressed that Egypt has strong and extended relations with all international financial institutions and multilateral and bilateral development partners, which is reflected in the size of the country’s cooperation portfolio, which exceeds $26bn.
She also emphasised that South-South and triangular cooperation could represent a strong opportunity to transfer expertise and experience and benefit from the Egyptian experience in all fields.
Furthermore, Al-Mashat pointed out that the platform is the beginning of continuous discussions and meetings on setting up mechanisms for South-South and triangular cooperation to push forward joint work efforts and move forward towards achieving regional integration by benefiting from the already implemented development trade.
For his part, Fracassetti said that cooperation between the UNDP and the ministry represents an important step to support joint efforts through the Sustainable Development Solutions for South-South Cooperation Platform, adding that it is an important tool for bringing together relevant parties in different sectors to discuss development issues and strengthen partnerships.
“Many countries of the South face similar challenges, so this platform allows us and our partners to discuss those challenges and find solutions for sustainable development,” he said.
“South-South cooperation plays an indispensable role in today’s development landscape and in the future of development and is of particular interest to the programme and part of its strategy. The programme estimates that 13 to 19% of its development support already includes South-South cooperation.”
