Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad met on Monday with Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, the Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), to discuss ways of joint cooperation during the coming period and support the organization’s effective participation in the road from COP27 to COP28 summit.
The meeting also discussed Egypt’s hosting of the organization’s technical support unit for the African initiative for adaptation, and ways to support it in the future.
This came in the presence of Mohamed Hegazy, the Director of the Regional Office of the organisation in North Africa, and Soha Taher, the Head of the Central Administration for International Cooperation.
Mbassi praised the constructive results of the organization’s participation during COP27, and the strengthening of joint cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Environment, and expressed his aspiration to build on these positive results in supporting the organization’s initiative during the activities of the COP28, to establish a forum for cities and local authorities and shed light on their role in facing the effects of climate change.
The Minister of Environment welcomed the constructive cooperation with the organization in the climate change file and was keen to learn about the organization’s vision on the Cities and Local Authorities Forum and its role in confronting the effects of climate change to be held and the expected objectives of it, based on the results of the organization’s successful participation in COP27.
Fouad and Mbassi also discussed cooperation in hosting the organization’s regional headquarters in Egypt for the technical support unit for the African Adaptation Initiative.
The minister stressed that Egypt, as a host country for the unit, is keen to provide all means of support to advance the initiative and cooperate to determine the required measures and quickly take institutional steps to agree on the action plan during the coming period.
The meeting also discussed the possibility of bilateral cooperation in implementing the Regional Readiness Program, which the UCLG Africa is currently implementing as an implementing partner of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), in Morocco, and West and East Africa, to help local governments move together towards achieving the goal of confronting the effects of climate change and sharing efforts.
