In its closing ceremony, the Egypt – International Cooperation Forum (Egypt-ICF) has issued strategic recommendations for the local, regional, and international community and all multilateral and international cooperation parties to consider while developing a roadmap to achieving sustainable development.
Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of International Cooperation, expressed her gratitude to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly for taking part in the forum, reflecting the Government of Egypt’s focus on multilateralism and international cooperation to fulfill the development agenda.
Al-Mashat stated, “Over the course of two days, we witnessed a number of panel discussions and workshops with the participation and high-level attendance of more than 1,500 government officials, heads of international and regional financial institutions, representatives of the private sector and civil society from all over the world, where they exchanged views, visions, experiences and expertise to enhance the role that international cooperation and development finance play in advancing the UN goals for sustainable development.”
Al-Mashat reiterated that Egypt-ICF is a hub for international cooperation, where the lay down of efficient and effective development interventions is the purpose in order to build back better, while keeping the global pledge to “Leave No One Behind.” She released the first Cairo Communiqué, encompassing a list of commandments that have resulted from the extensive discussions occurring over the course of the forum.
Al-Mashat added, “Governance and transparency are at the heart of sustainable development, we must ensure as leaders the rigorous implementation of the global international cooperation and development financing agreements.”
The Cairo Communiqué emphasizes the importance of an inclusive multilateral cooperation; between state ministries, development partners, the private sector, and the civil society aiming to drive consistent progress towards the fulfillment of both the global and local 2030 goals.
She also stated that working to build effective partnerships with sustainable impact that include all relevant parties from governments, international financial institutions, the private sector, and the civil society in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Cairo Communiqué highlights the MEA region’s potential to drive progress and sustainable development globally. The Egypt – ICF witnessed multiple South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation discussions that were reflected in the Cairo Communiqué as two of the main factors to enhance multilateral cooperation for the implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and the African “Agenda 2063: the Africa We Want.”
The Minister of International Cooperation further elaborated, in her closing speech about the Egypt – ICF’s Cairo Communiqué, the importance of private sector engagement in aims to advance the global sustainability targets. She highlighted the necessity for structural and economic reforms in order to push towards more involvement of the private entities in the development agenda.
In the closing ceremony, Al-Mashat stated that the infrastructure sector remains a main development area for the global community; highlighting the necessity of development interventions and the allocation of more financing in its maintenance and construction across developing nations.
In conclusion of her speech, Al-Mashat stressed on the importance of taking the necessary measures and reforms to encourage digital transformation led by the youth in Africa to unleash the continent’s potential and to push towards the establishment of innovation-based and knowledge-driven economies.
The Egypt-ICF, in its first edition, took place on 8-9 September, bringing together global and regional leaders to discuss pressing challenges and issues; aiming at providing a hub for high-level discussions and knowledge sharing workshops in order to lay down development plans that support the global sustainability goals and match the national priorities across all countries. The Cairo Communiqué was released at the end of the forum, in order to list down the conclusions and results of each panel discussion and workshop that have taken place during the forum; bringing the global community a conclusive document of suggestions and commandments to push towards the 2030 goals more diligently.
