Day: December 6, 2022

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry left here on Tuesday 6/12/2022 for Amman to take part in the tripartite ministerial meeting involving Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid said the three-way meeting will address the implementation of trilateral cooperation projects in implementation of the directives given by the three leaders to bolster joint interests.

He also said the meeting will cover the latest regional and international developments which require a constant coordination among the three countries along with working on settling regional crises facing the region with the aim of maintaining peace and security.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Chairman of the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU) Ahmed Khalil asserted the keenness of Egypt to foster and scale up mechanisms for countering money laundering and terrorist financing crimes.

Egypt is enacting updated legislation and developing action mechanisms for dealing with virtual currency along with slapping financial penalties to combat terrorism and terrorist financing in accordance with international criteria, added Khalil in an address to the inaugural session of the 13th annual conference of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) on Monday 5/12/2022.

Egypt, while chairing the Financial Working Group for MENA Region, has been exerting strenuous and tireless efforts to boost coordination with all related international bodies to ride out global challenges concerning combating money laundering, particularly during the coronavirus crisis, he added.

Criminals are exploiting global crises such as that of the Covid-19 pandemic which has been jeopardizing the lives of millions of people in the world, he said, adding that their financial crimes and harmful practices deprive countries of resources that should be spent on development priorities.

ACAMS is hosting the two-day conference to let attendees learn about evolving regulatory priorities and emerging financial-crime threats. The event is attended by high-level experts representing the Central Bank of the UAE, UAE Ministry of Economy, Central Bank of Bahrain, Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA), Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA), Dubai International Financial Centre, Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and many of the region’s largest banks, FinTech firms, and consultancies.

In addition to having the chance to network with regional subject-matter experts in the AFC space, participants in this year’s ACAMS MENA conference have the opportunity to pose questions directly to the conference’s speakers amid discussions on such topics as monitoring crypto asset activity for links to drug trafficking and terrorism, automating trade-finance controls to detect signs of trade-based money laundering and overcoming compliance hurdles to obtaining correspondent banking services.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Egypt and the UN celebrated the International Volunteer Day (IVD), which falls on December 5 of each year with the aim to promote solidarity through volunteering.

This year focuses on contributions by volunteers with the aim to make positive change in their societies, particularly where climate action and sustainable development is concerned.

The celebration was attended by Social Solidarity Minister Nevine el Qabbaj, UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova, UN Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in Egypt Alessandro Fracassetti and UN Volunteers (UNV) coordinator in Egypt Heba Nosseir.

The IVD is celebrated this year, with millions of volunteers worldwide working in solidarity to underscore the life-changing impact volunteering has on millions of people every day.

Over a billion people volunteer their time, skills, and experience to help improve their communities. From providing practical support to vulnerable children and adults to advising on sophisticated technical and legal issues, volunteers are present at all levels of society. Each one brings a specific set of skills to their tasks.

In line with Egypt hosting COP 27 and in partnership with the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Volunteerism Network Members, UNV Egypt recognizes the best national and UN Volunteers.

The national volunteer award was adopted by the Minister of Social Solidarit during IVD 2021. This year, the award is given under the theme of Environment. UNV Egypt is recognizing best performing UN Volunteers under three categories, initiative, innovation and teamwork, in addition to, special award for the 9 UN Volunteers mobilized for COP 27.

Addressing the ceremony, Minister Qabbaj praised the important role played by volunteers in Egypt, pointing out that 600 volunteers had been selected to contribute to the organization of the COP27 in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el Sheikh last month.

Egypt has some 600,000 volunteers working across the country with the aim to help improve their communities, families, schools and universities, Qabbaj said. They also help with implementing many national projects, she added.

The minister, however, underscored the need to have a systematic mechanism for volunteering and securing enough training for volunteers.

UNV coordinates IVD on December 5 every year to recognize and promote the tireless work, not just of UN Volunteers, but of volunteers across the globe.

Source: State Information Service Egypt

Environment Minister Yasmin Fouad conferred with Tajik Ambassador to Egypt Zarobiddin Kosimi and his accompanying delegation on means to boost cooperation in the field of environmental work and activate a memorandum of understanding inked between Egypt and Tajikistan in 2019.

During the meeting on Tuesday, Fouad appreciated cooperation between both countries to support environmental work in the different domains and issues before and during COP 27.

The memo inked in 2019 aimed at activating cooperation in a number of issues of mutual interest including adaptation, decarbonization, biological diversity and protecting the environmental systems in addition to means of benefiting from water and using it in agriculture.

She pointed to the importance of working on the issues of water especially the problems of increased soil salinity and underground water which directly affect the agricultural lands and food security.

She asserted Egypt’s keenness on launching the food security initiative in cooperation with the FAO and the EPAP to solve the problem of the impact of climate change on agriculture and all the related issues.

Meanwhile, Kosimi lauded the efforts exerted by Fouad to protect the environment at the global level and lauded the success of COP27.

He asserted his country’s support to joint action between Egypt and Tajikistan within the framework of Water and Climate Coalition to support innovative solutions to protect water, support the climate agenda and stand against the impact of climate change.

Source: State Information Service Egypt