Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry — representing President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi — participated in a working dinner called by French President Emmanuel Macron in the presence of a group of heads of state on the side-lines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
According to a statement by the ministry, during the dinner, Shoukry reviewed Egypt’s efforts to face the repercussions of increasing energy prices, which negatively affected the completion of efforts to achieve economic development in many regions of the world, especially developing countries.
Earlier, in his speech during the assembly, the FM explained that the current international situation has led Egypt to intensify its efforts to become a regional energy centre by strengthening the coordination of the policies of Eastern Mediterranean countries in the field of natural gas production, liquification, and export.
He also referred to the efforts to electrically interconnect African and European countries and the promotion of investments in the fields of renewable and clean energy sources.
Additionally, he touched upon the global food security crisis, which has cast a shadow on the Egyptian economy in light of the fact that Egypt is a developing country that is a net importer of food.
Moreover, Shoukry stressed the need for countries with food surpluses to facilitate the supply of food to net importing countries, and the removal of restrictions on the export of food commodities.
He stressed that preparing for any similar crisis in the future requires helping developing countries increase their food production and invest in flexible and sustainable agri-food systems, in addition to encouraging scientific research in the agricultural field, facilitating technology transfer, and enhancing technical cooperation in related fields.
Finally, Shoukry touched on the repercussions of the global energy and food crises on the financial conditions of developing countries in a way that undermines their relentless efforts for economic reform, which requires international financial institutions, regional development banks, and development partners to play a key role in helping countries under economic and social pressure through the provision of financing and debt relief.
