Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister, met with Nardos Bekele, Executive Director of the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD), on the sidelines of his participation, on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, in the high-level segment of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP29, hosted by the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, in the presence of Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation for the important role played by the African Union Development Agency (NEPAD) and its support for the Egyptian presidency of NEPAD.
Dr. Mostafa Madbouly stressed Egypt’s continued support for NEPAD by increasing funding sources for the agency in order to implement the important infrastructure projects supervised by the agency, noting that work will be done to provide the necessary funding for NEPAD and its ten-year plan during the next phase, by mobilizing funding from donor countries.
The Prime Minister also expressed Egypt’s support for establishing regional offices for the agency, and the African Center of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change, which is planned to be established in Egypt.
In turn, Nardos Bekele expressed her appreciation for Egypt’s constant support for the NEPAD Agency.
During the meeting, Bekele pointed out the importance of making the necessary efforts to follow up on the implementation of NEPAD programs through communication with the relevant African countries, expressing her aspiration to cooperate with Egypt in this regard.
The Executive Director of the NEPAD Agency stressed the importance of establishing the African Center of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation to the Impacts of Climate Change in Egypt and its role in supporting development efforts and disseminating best practices in the field of adaptation, expressing her aspiration to establish the center as soon as possible.
It also discussed efforts to establish a New Development Fund to support NEPAD’s efforts in implementing its projects.
Commenting on this point, the Prime Minister explained that it is essential that the New Development Fund does not impose any new financial burdens on African countries.
During the meeting, Bekele praised the role of the Aswan Forum and the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Preservation and Peacebuilding in coordinating with the agency and achieving the goals of African countries.
She also pointed out the importance of coordinating African efforts in light of the multiplicity of initiatives in order to maximize the benefit of the various efforts being made.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Prime Minister expressed his support for NEPAD’s role in achieving the aspirations of the peoples of the African continent in the field of sustainable development, stressing continued coordination between the two sides in this regard.
