Egypt welcomes any proposal for cooperation at the bilateral, regional, and continental level between African cities within the framework of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), according to Egypt’s Minister of Local Development Mahmoud Shaarawy.
Shaarawy’s remarks came during his speech at the 26th session of the Executive Council of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa.
The Minister of Local Development indicated that Egypt will also work during its presidency of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) to identify investment opportunities, and cooperation between the African cities.
He stressed President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s keenness to put Egypt’s capabilities to serve the peoples of the African continent in various fields, including signing the African Free Trade Agreement, and launching many health initiatives and infrastructure projects.
Sharawy indicated that the city of Luxor was honored to host the major international event “World Cities Day” on 30 and 31 October amid a wide international presence and the African participation was wide, led by the high-level delegation of the UCLG Africa.
He asserted the important role played by the UCLG to support the efforts of the international community to address climate challenges, in addition to combat the terrorism, illegal immigration, and economic poverty.
The Minister of Local Development confirmed that the African delegation also indicated that there is an opportunity for our countries to strengthen the decentralization strategy, which contributes to the ability of the African cities to integrate and launch investment projects.
