Day: July 15, 2022

Minister of International Cooperation Rania el Mashat said international partnerships of Egypt are based on four key axes; state ownership, promotion of partnerships’ harmony with development partners and goals and priorities of the state, comprehensive partnerships including civil society and the private sector and transparency principle.

Mashat was speaking in a virtual address at the high-level political forum concerned with sustainable development at the UN’s premises in New York Saturday 16/07/2022.

The forum, established in 2012, offers an important opportunity for probing reconstruction efforts following COVID-19 pandemic and mechanisms for implementing the 2030 sustainable development plan.

Mashat talked about Egyptian efforts exerted through international cooperation and developmental financing to promote efforts for transition to green economy and to achieve sustainable recovery and mitigate the bad impacts caused by coronavirus crisis along with boosting flexibility and resilience of national economy and promoting novel financing mechanisms to foster climate action.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait directed Saturday 16/07/2022 the customs authority to ease the customs procedures for the Egyptian pilgrims and expats returning home.

Reviewing a report on the customs performance during Eidul Adha, Maait directed to continue using the cutting-edge scanning devices to expedite the procedures for the returnees.

He praised the efforts of the customs authority staff that is doing its best around the clock to ensure high-level services.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

The trade exchange between Egypt and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states increased 21.7 percent to record 16.1 billion dollars in 2021, up from 13.3 billion in 2020, the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) revealed.

Egypt exports to GCC states hit 4.5 billion dollars in 2021, down from 5.4 billion in 2020 by 16.8 percent.

Saudi Arabia led GCC countries imports from Egypt, as Egypt exports to Saudi Arabia reached 2.2 billion dollars, followed by the UAE 1.3 billion, then Bahrain 450.7 million dollars, Kuwait 320.7 million dollars, Oman 163.3 million dollars, and Qatar 4.5 million dollars.

Egypt imports from GCC states rose 47.9 percent to 11.7 billion in 2021, up from 7.9 billion in 2020.

Saudi Arabia also topped the GCC exports to Egypt by 6.9 billion dollars, followed by the UAE 2.4 billion dollars, then Kuwait 1.4 billion dollars, after that Bahrain 466.5 million dollars, Oman 422.9 million dollars, and Qatar 40.3 million dollars.

The remittances of Egyptian expats, working in the GCC states, increased 11.1 percent to 20.9 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2020/2021, up from 18.8 billion dollars in the previous year.

The GCC states’ investments in Egypt slightly increased to 3.9 billion dollars in the fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to 3.8 billion in the previous year, with UAE is the highest GCC states investing in Egypt by 2.8 billion dollar investments.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala el Saeed had talks on Friday 15/07/2022 with President of the UN Economic and Social Council (UNECOSOC) and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations in New York Collen Vixen Kelapile on boosting bilateral cooperation.

The meeting was held in New York on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2022.

The theme for the 2022 HLPF is “Building back better from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while advancing the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”.

At the beginning of the meeting, the minister lauded the UN ECOSOC President’s efforts in reconvening the HLPF this year, providing leadership, guidance and recommendations for sustainable development.

She also praised Botswana, the second-time Voluntary National Review (VNR) presenter, stressing the importance of building on the success, challenges and lessons learned in implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in light of the current global economic crisis.

She stated that the Egyptian state, through Egypt’s Vision 2030, gives priority to achieving sustainable development, enhancing comprehensive economic growth, achieving sustainable utilization of natural resources and protecting the environment through the transition to a green economy.

The Egyptian state, in cooperation with the Arab League and the United Nations, launched a report titled “Financing Sustainable Development in Egypt,” the first of its kind to deal with development finance and the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030 at the national level, the minister noted.

She also underlined that Egypt will host the 27th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh in November, which falls within the framework of shedding light on the importance of collective action to face the global challenges of climate change.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Egyptian Ambassador in Quito Ashraf Abdel Qader Salama handed over an invitation from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso to participate in the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the UNFCCC, set for the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh in November.

This came during the Ecuadorian President’s meeting with the Egyptian ambassador with the approach of the end of his tenure in Ecuador.

The Foreign Ministry said on its Facebook page that the Ecuadorian president welcomed the invitation, expressing his country’s interest in issues related to environmental protection and combating climate change.

For his part, the Egyptian diplomat pointed out to the initiative launched by the Egyptian embassy in Quito on benefiting from Ecuador as a gateway to Latin American countries.

He also stressed the need for Ecuador to benefit from the free Suez Canal economic zone, through which it could re-export its products to many countries.

Source: State Information Service Egypt