Cairo: Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouli attended the signing ceremony of a document on enhancing comprehensive planning, budgeting, and monitoring. The ceremony took place on the sidelines of the launch of Egypt’s Integrated National Financing Strategy (E-INFS) at the New Administrative Capital on Tuesday.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the document was signed by Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation Minister Rania El Mashat on behalf of the Egyptian government. Joining her were UN Resident Coordinator in Egypt Elena Panova, UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt Alessandro Fracassetti, Country Director for UN-Habitat Egypt Ahmed Rizk, and UNICEF Representative in Egypt Natalia Winder Rossi.

Mashat emphasized the significance of the Sustainable Development Goals’ localization to accelerate Egypt’s development path, in line with Egypt’s 2021 Voluntary National Review. She highlighted that localizing SDGs helps address geographical and spatial disparities and ensures the a
chievement of inclusive growth principles and the commitment to leaving no one behind (LNOB).

Mashat noted that despite genuine efforts to advance SDG progress in the least developed countries, these efforts have yet to achieve full success across all governorates. She pointed out that global shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and crises in Sudan and Gaza have intensified Egypt’s social and economic challenges.

These challenges have led to increased costs of living and heightened food security concerns, Mashat explained, underlining the need to bolster food and social protection systems to hasten progress towards the SDGs. She also mentioned that the Egyptian government has launched various initiatives to support local-level SDG progress, aligning with the updated Sustainable Development Strategy (SDS): Egypt Vision 2030.