Egypt, UN Agree on Details of Partnership Programs in Coming Five Years

UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Richard Dictus said Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr launched a new chapter in the rich United Nations history in Egypt, noting that all 19 UN agencies with operational activities in the country signed a new United Nations Partnership Development Framework (UNPDF) detailing their partnership with Egypt over the next five years.

In an op-ed distributed by the UN office in Cairo, Dictus said "UNPDF entails a total resource envelope of US$ 1.2 billion and builds on the capacities of the UN development system, that reached in 2015/16 nearly 33 million Egyptians through various projects and partnerships with Government and civil society."

"By adopting the Sustainable Development Strategy: Egypt Vision 2030 (SDS) in early 2016, Egypt is committed to operational SDGs.

Based on the initial successes of the SDS, it is expected that the process will unfold with an emphasis on economic expansion and increasing employment, integrated development solutions, behavioral adaptability to the idea of sustainability, and innovation.

Moreover, it will focus on the reduction of inequities in society, especially with its emphasis on the impetus of the 2030 Agenda, leaving no one behind.

It is now the time for a ripened partnership that makes use of the knowledge, expertise and experience of the UN combined to give shape to a much more sustainable future for Egypt, as one of the global leaders in SDGs. “the UN coordinator noted.

In 2016, Egypt was one of the first countries to present its SDG situation analysis at the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development at the UN in New York. This serves as a cutting-edge basis for the discussions that have been conducted since. Egypt presented a clear situation analysis that outlines past achievements, opportunities but also challenges to success.

In 2018, Egypt is poised to provide its second update to the world community at the UNGA in New York.

The UNDPF, developed through consultations between the UN and no less than 400 participants representing 18 Ministries, Government departments, private sector and civil society, makes the choice to focus our partnership on the most significant disparities, for instance, those between men and women, different regions of the country and different parts of society.

It builds on ongoing joint work, for instance, to expand social safety nets, generate youth employment, upscale family planning, protection of coastal zones, women’s empowerment etc."

"That is the challenge that we have decided to have as the centerpiece of our renewed Partnership – to jointly find new SDG inspired solutions.

The UN and Egypt have been successful together before and now is the time to continue building upon this spirit. Further dialogues to uncover integrated sustainable pathways for People, Planet, Prosperity and Women will require us to jointly examine our past experiences and identify new innovative solutions.

These will range from focusing food and nutrition, through demographic dividends to high level investment in the future of Egypt’s children and youth. Our partnership should drive a process of acceleration in poverty reduction, economic growth, social cohesion and environmental sustainability.

How can we increase the labour participation of women? How do we plan for well-organized and safe cities and more complex human habitats that are productive spaces offering quality of life? How can we unleash the productive and creative capacities of young people so that they can contribute to a massive expansion of employment? How do we make that economic growth green and sustainable, based on Egypt’s incredible agricultural potential?" he added.

"Not all questions have answers yet, but we have learned about our joint capacity for dialogue over the past two years, and we, at the UN, are confident that we will be able to deliver for Egypt and its people." he concluded.