Egypt’s Minister of Local Development Hisham Amna announced on Saturday that Egypt will host the fourth regular session of the African Ministers of Local Development Committee on issues of public service, local governments, urban development, and decentralisation, from 29 to 31 August.
The conference will host delegations from 55 African countries, along with representatives of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (Habitat) and the World Food Programme, the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
This fourth session is being held under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi.
Amna also expressed his aspiration that Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly will attend the inauguration of the meeting of African Ministers of Local Development on the third day of the fourth regular session of the Specialised Technical Committee of the African Union.
Moreover, the PM will witness the signing ceremony of an agreement that will allow Cairo to host the 2025 African Cities Summit, provided that experts meet in sub-committees over the course of the first and second days of the conference to discuss and present their views regarding decentralisation and local governments, public service and administration, human settlements, and urban development.
Furthermore, Amna noted that the heads of the African and Foreign Affairs Committees of the Egyptian House of Representatives and the Senate were invited, as well as the Coordination Committee of Parties’ Youth Leaders and Politicians, in addition to a number of governors, international partners, foreign embassies, and UN organisations.
The minister elaborated that the second half of the ministerial meeting on August 31 will be devoted to an interactive session that includes three main topics: The African local perspective on climate action within the framework of Egypt’s hosting of the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, food security and value chains, and the Egyptian Decent Life Presidential Initiative as a model for African rural transformation, which was very welcomed by the African delegations that participated in the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa Summit that was held in the Kenyan city of Kisumu.
He further pointed out that these issues constitute current challenges on the international scene, and the session aims to develop a vision for African countries to face these challenges and serve the people of the continent.
