Success Stories are the Main Driver of Africa’s Development: Minister Rania A. Al-Mashat

As the world pursues a transformative recovery from COVID-19 and embarks on the Decade of Action, it has become more pertinent than ever to share positive and successful stories for Africa’s development that can bring about new governance standards for Africa in terms of managing its vast resources.

Held under the patronage of His Excellency Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Ministry of International Cooperation organized the first edition of the the two-day event ‘Egypt-International Cooperation Forum’, which was launched yesterday with an aim to transfer knowledge and mobilize the global development community to sustainable development as a catalyst for the post-pandemic economy.

The two-day hybrid event hosts distinguished national, regional and international policymakers, private-sector stakeholders, development leaders, civil society bodies and think tanks, including Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group and World Economic Forum’s President Børge Brende.

The event comprises high-level panel discussions, specialized workshops, capacity-building sessions for national and regional participants as well as development cooperation projects’ visits.

‘Success stories are the main driver of Africa’s development’

During her participation in the first workshop session titled ‘Mapping ODA to SDGs: A Tool for Effective Policy Making’ at the Egypt-International Cooperation Forum, organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation, H.E. Minister Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat noted that the next critical stage to drive Africa’s development is not solely concerned with the size of funding, but with sharing successful experiences in governance among neighbouring countries that can create a domino effect in the implementation of development projects across the continent.

She also highlighted that Egypt is positioning itself as a regional leader in promoting regional cooperation and transferring expertise and experience in development, explaining that achieving the sustainable development goals requires an effective system of governance that includes vigilant monitoring and analysis of the results and outputs produced in order to determine the impact and the progress that has been achieved.

“Success stories are the main driver of Africa’s development. It is hoped that these success stories provide inspiration to governments and stakeholders to reduce the risk of future potential emergencies and deliver on the ambitious and inclusive vision of the 2030 Agenda,” she noted.

Traditional forms of governance are no longer fit for problems that are cross-border in their impact, the Minister added, which is Egypt has been on implementing coordinated governance to ensure the participation of all stakeholders in society: international development partners, the private sector and civil society, noting that Egypt’s diverse and cross-sectoral portfolio with several partners amounts to 25 billion dollars.

In his opening speech at the Egypt-International Cooperation Forum, organized by the Ministry of International Cooperation, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi underlined the importance of upscaling strategies for social and economic inclusion that are in line with green recovery, as developing countries and countries in Africa in particular face a ‘double crisis’ in responding to the economic and climate challenges of the future.

“There is no doubt that governments alone will not be able to achieve this recovery, so the pivotal role of the private sector and international financial institutions is necessary for a sustainable future through innovative mechanisms for resource mobilization and blended financing, along with tapping on the potential of technology and the digital transformation to achieve the economic and social development for the whole world,” the president noted.

Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group, stressed the importance of the forum in transferring knowledge and exploring greater opportunities for more international cooperation in achieving the common goals of countries.

The International Cooperation Forum is aiming to conclude with the Cairo Communiqué, which is set to identify priorities and provide global solutions that reflect the world’s most critical challenges in order to guide policy-makers and government through the post-pandemic recovery.