Madrid: Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Rania Al-Mashat, delivered the country’s address at a multilateral roundtable on “Revitalizing international development cooperation.” She spoke on behalf of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Spain from June 29 to July 3, 2025.
According to State Information Service Egypt, Al-Mashat explained that the current period is witnessing a significant decline in progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, due to escalating geopolitical tensions and multiple ongoing crises. These challenges have resulted in successive negative impacts, particularly on developing and least developed countries, which bear the heaviest burden of the global debt crisis. This situation is leading to a widening and deepening gap between developed and developing countries.
She added that the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development represents an important opportunity to reaffirm the existence of genuine political will to address the situation. The conference aims to discuss effective proposals that would enhance concessional financing and support existing financial mechanisms, including Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), as well as develop new mechanisms to mobilize the required financing.
The Minister highlighted the potential of development-linked debt instruments as a means to stimulate funding tied to development priorities. She affirmed the importance of donor countries’ commitment to their pledges to developing countries, noting that the challenges faced by these nations are also beginning to impact many middle-income countries. These countries risk undermining the progress they have achieved due to the worsening global debt situation.
Al-Mashat emphasized the need to focus on priority sectors such as health and education, while making concerted efforts to alleviate debt burdens. This goal can be achieved by implementing sustainable mechanisms that support developing countries in an integrated manner.
In conclusion, she stated that the conversation should not be limited to increasing the volume of financing alone but should also focus on capacity building of countries. This approach would enable countries to work effectively to achieve their national priorities and implement their development strategies independently and sustainably. She expressed hope that the conference would yield concrete recommendations capable of making a real, positive impact in advancing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.