The 2nd Egypt-International Co-operation Forum (Egypt-ICF) and the Meeting of African Ministers of Finance, Economy, and Environment, will feature over 20 sessions including panels, workshops and roundtables, in co-operation with development partners and international institutions.
The forum, which starts today and ends on September 9, is being held under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi within the framework of creating constructive partnerships to advance the green transformation in Africa, stimulate climate action, and mobilise efforts of the international community towards climate financing.
The forum will include six panels — ‘From Pledges to Implementation: Translating Financial Commitments to Opportunities in Africa’, ‘African Countries Ownership in Determining the Climate Agenda’, ‘ Reducing the Cost of Green/ Sustainable Borrowing’, ‘Official Debt for Sustainable Investment’, ‘On the Road to COP27: Pre-Finance Day’, and ‘Investing in Sustainable Infrastructure for a Just Transition’.
The forum will feature seven workshops on innovation for climate action, food security and agriculture, sustainable budgeting, a green economy, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), private sector engagement in adaptation projects, women’s empowerment and sovereign ratings.
There will also be three roundtable sessions, two of which will review the Egypt’s country platform for the nexus of water, food and energy (NFWE) sectors, to enhance development finance and investment opportunities in these vital sectors.
This programme was launched by the Ministry of International Co-operation, in coordination with the Ministry of Environment in July in light of the 2050 National Climate Change Strategy.
The forum is organised by the Ministry of International Co-operation, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Environment, with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa as the co-convener.
The objectives of the Egypt-ICF are in line with the main COP27 objectives, which include going from pledges to implementation at global level.
In this regard, the forum sets forth three themes: the mobilization of finance and access to finance, financing mitigation and adaptation projects, and national action.
The 2nd Egypt-ICF is held in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank, African Development Bank, the World Bank Group, the Climate Investment Funds, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation, the International Finance Corporation, European Investment Bank, Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt.
The first Egypt-ICF was held last year and witnessed the participation of 1,500 representatives of governments in Africa, Europe and Latin America, multilateral and bilateral development partners, the private sector, and civil society.
The recommendations of the first forum covered multilateral co-operation, strengthening South-South and Triangular co-operation, mechanisms for advancing the sustainable development agenda, stimulating private sector, and the transition towards climate action.
Source: State Information Service Egypt