Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Friday expressed Egypt’s readiness to cooperate with the international community in order to host an international center for supply and storage of grains to face the global food crisis.
This came in his speech via videoconference in the “Voice of the South” summit meeting, which is held under India’s presidency of the G20.
In statements on Friday, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry’s speech during the meeting comes within the framework of the invitation extended to Egypt from India to participate as a guest in the G20 meetings.
Shoukry began his speech by thanking the Indian presidency for inviting Egypt to participate in the activities of the G20 during its presidency, noting the challenges facing the countries of the South caused by the successive crises, topped by the COVID-19 pandemic, food supply chain and food security crises and climate change, the spokesman said.
He stressed the need to adopt a comprehensive approach to deal with these challenges and to reach common and effective solutions, the spokesman added.
He also underlined the importance of the G20 in providing the necessary impetus to reformulate the international economic system to effectively respond to the challenges facing the countries of the South, the spokesman further noted.
Shoukry also pledged Egypt’s commitment to engage in the discussions and initiatives that would be put forward within the framework of the G20 to reach consensus on the current serious challenges.
Shoukry also reviewed some priorities and ideas that may contribute to the group’s discussions on this score.
He called on the group to take the initiative in obligating development partners to provide the necessary support to the countries of the South to recover in the short term and deal with their development needs in the long term.
Shoukry also reviewed the role played by Egypt in making strong and unprecedented commitments within the framework of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 27), which was held in Sharm El Sheikh in November.
The foreign minister also stressed the importance of providing access to energy to all countries, saying the energy transition will not be achieved without ensuring adequate financing and transferring technology to developing countries.
Shoukry further noted that Egypt launched the Global Renewable Hydrogen Forum during the climate conference, underlining the trade opportunities that the forum can provide between developing and developed countries.
In his speech, the foreign minister said that Egypt is looking forward to the G20’s support for the forum’s activities.
Source: State Information Service Egypt