The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Rania El-Mashat, took part in the 2021 United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High-Level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF)
The minister participated in a panel titled ‘‘Investing in the sustainable development goals (SDGs): How can public and private financing be scaled up to unlock catalytic investments for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda?”
The panel was chaired by Sergiy Kyslytsya, the Vice President of the ECOSOC; and moderated by Homi Kharas, the Senior Fellow and Deputy Director for the Global Economy and Development Program at Brookings Institute. As a respondent alongside El-Mashat is Jutta Urpilainen, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships; and as lead discussants, there were Nina Angelovska, the Global UNCTAD Advocate for Women in eTrade, and Jason Rosario Braganza, the Executive Director of African Forum and Network on Debt and Development (AFRODAD), according to a statement on Tuesday.
The panellists also include Alicia Bárcena, the Executive Secretary of ECLAC; Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank); Joyce Chang, Chair of Global Research for J.P. Morgan’s Corporate and Investment Bank; and Anna Gelpern, Professor at Georgetown University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
El-Mashat discussed unlocking investment opportunities for national development that are aligned with the global goals, the role of economic diplomacy in Egypt’s experience with international cooperation, the country’s COVID-19 response, and the closing of financing gaps.
The minister stated that the three principles of economic diplomacy helped the country progress during challenging times, hosting multi-stakeholder platforms to streamline plans and ensure a transparent country-led framework for development and mapping the Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the SDGs in aim to institutionalise the sustainable progress and the Global Partnerships Narrative that forges a common, unified language between Egypt and its development partners.
During the event, El-Mashat shared that she recently launched her new book “Stakeholder Engagement Through Economic Diplomacy” which details Egypt’s transparency and accountability in tracking and progressing its national projects, in line with the global goals. This pioneering approach to mapping the global goals alongside development financing is a major cornerstone of Egypt’s development story.
Munir Akram, President of the UN ECOSOC, commented on the book saying that “an institutional, transparent, and inclusive country-led framework is important to facilitate constructive dialogue among all stakeholders involved in development cooperation,” during the launch event last week. Likewise, in the ECOSOC’s High-Level Political Forum, panellists and discussants addressed the necessity of transparent, open conversations when it comes to progress in global goals.
“By providing clear allocations of development financing to the SDGs, and showcasing what goals are being met, these are all distinguishing factors that show compelling evidence of the progress that is being done nationally,” said El-Mashat. She further elaborated that such a clear development framework helps in identifying the financial gaps, and provides the necessary data needed to pave the way to an informed decision-making process regarding future partnerships.
Another aspect addressed during the panel discussion is building back post-pandemic and recovering from the repercussions posed by the health crisis. El-Mashat shared that Egypt is continuously reforming. To ensure a resilient, innovative and inclusive reform strategy, the Egyptian government is focused on engaging with the private sector through public-private partnerships.
The European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, also shared that “investing in the global goals is a crucial issue we are faced with as the world recovers from the pandemic. Over the past year, the European Union has mobilised EUR 40 million to address the pandemic’s consequences across the world.”
Joyce Chang, Managing Director and Chair of Global Research at J.P. Morgan expressed that while 2020 was a difficult year, it was also a critical year for green recovery and sustainability bonds, showing potential for growth. Likewise for Egypt, El-Mashat said that green financing tools are a major part of the country’s sustainable recovery plan; via redesigning development finance and incorporating blended finance instruments to attract investment.
Going forward, there is a focus on inclusive development and gender equality. Egypt has taken strides in recent years by pushing forward gender-inclusive policies.
“We need greater participation of women in technology, in leadership, and in digital. Digital isn’t a magic word, but it is an enabler,” said Nina Angelovska, the Global UNCTAD Advocate for Women in eTrade, elaborating that women need to be part of building back better.
With less than nine years away from the 2030 global goals, accelerating progress will continue to be at the forefront of local and global priorities. Through the principles of economic diplomacy, Egypt was able to stay on track in its national development agenda; in line with the SDGs, and continues to move forward. By the end of 2020, the Ministry of International Cooperation declared that 98% of the country’s sustainable development projects were on track.
The 2021 HLPF was held from 6 July to 15 July, and tackles questions surrounding how to achieve a sustainable and resilient recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, while considering the interconnected nature of the SDGs. Putting countries back on an inclusive and effective path for sustainable development requires global cooperation, and as there are less than nine years left to the global goals, the HLPF aims to delve into the SDGs that were directly impacted by the pandemic such as, SDG 1: No Poverty, SDG 2: Zero Hunger, and SDG 13: Climate Action.
