The political leadership is keen on making Egypt a leading active player in the regional and global arenas, Local Development Minister Mahmoud Shaarawy said Sunday.
Shaarawy was speaking during an event celebrating the launch for the first time of 27 reports for localization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 27 governorates, in partnership between the Egyptian governments the UN Population Fund.
Minister of Planning and Economic Development Hala el Saeed, UNFPA Representative in Egypt Frederika Meijer, Resident UN Coordinator for Egypt Elena Panova, deputies, local planners, and all 27 governors attended the event, along with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector, civil society, research and academia and development partners.
“In pursuance of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s directives, the government is working for achieving SDGs by adopting a bold comprehensive development program that targets about 58 percent of total population, namely the “Decent Life” rural development project,” Shaarawy said.
“This program seeks to bring about wholesale change in the daily lives of citizens at the economic, social, and environmental levels,” the minister added, asserting the importance of preparing and discussing provincial SDGs localization reports on a regular basis.
He also highlighted the State’s decentralization efforts as well as the ministry’s responsibilities for reforming and improving local administration systems, which will contribute to building the capacity of municipalities, thus enabling them to embrace and measure SDGs at the municipal level.
The reports set targets for SDGs indicators at the governorate level, and identify the developmental gaps of each governorate in order to highlight key priority areas and target groups.
The event is expected to discuss the active engagement of governorates in the implementation of the SDGs, the integration of SDGs into local plans, as well as the potential use of the 27 reports as a basis for any future efforts to produce Voluntary Local Reviews.
Source: State Information Service Egypt