As part of her participation in the G20 Development Ministerial Meeting in Brazil, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, participated in a discussion session titled “Reducing Inequalities and Triangular Cooperation.”

During her speech at the session, Al-Mashat clarified that the world currently faces multiple and complex challenges, including rising poverty and hunger, rising food and energy prices, climate change, and geopolitical tensions, which pose significant challenges to developing countries in particular and hinder their progress towards achieving the SDGs, noting that while these crises affect all countries, they impose greater challenges on developing countries and their populations, underscoring the importance of strengthening the multilateral system and international cooperation in all its forms as a necessity to address these challenges.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat added that inequality represents a major factor hindering progress towards implementing the 2030 Agenda, which necessitates reducing gaps in all its forms and dimensions, confirming full support for the G20 Development Working Group under the Brazilian presidency in prioritizing gap reduction to enhance comprehensive social inclusion, ensure equal opportunities for all, empower women, alongside addressing the current digital divide and ensuring development financing.

Al-Mashat pointed out the “Hayah Karima” initiative as an example of Egypt’s commitment to reducing inequalities, noting that the presidential initiative was launched in 2019 with the aim of improving the quality of life for citizens in rural areas, serving as a model for integrating SDGs in the governorates of the republic, focusing on improving livelihoods, infrastructure, and access to basic services, explaining that the initiative targets improving living conditions for residents of about 4,500 villages.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat stated that the United Nations SDGs report for 2024 indicated that only 17% of development goals are on track, while 35% have either stagnated or regressed below the basic level set in 2015, clarifying that developing countries have much to achieve, but evidence must be strengthened; the commitment of developing countries and urge them to act, emphasizing the transformative and urgent steps needed to accelerate the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Al-Mashat explained that since 2020, global crises have proven that knowledge exchange among developing countries is essential to help develop effective institutions, build capacities, and create sustainable solutions towards growth and justice, confirming full support for priorities within the G20 Development Working Group framework: triangular cooperation, reducing inequalities, sustainable water resource management, to accelerate the pace of sustainable development goal achievement.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat noted that Egypt’s commitment to south-south cooperation and triangular cooperation is driven by the belief that countries sharing economic and social conditions can enhance cooperation better by exchanging successful policies and development practices proven effective in their respective contexts, pointing out to the launch of Egypt’s Economic Cooperation Strategy among countries of the South and triangular cooperation in May 2023, aiming to enhance knowledge exchange and benefit from successful developmental experiences with developmental partners.

Al-Mashat added that within the framework of activating this strategy, Egypt cooperated with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and relaunched the Academy of South-South Cooperation in 2021 to become the first comprehensive entity in the Middle East and Africa as part of the Global Development Academy for South-South Cooperation, noting success in hosting workshops for knowledge exchange involving African countries, aiming to exchange practices and successful policies in areas such as food security, integrating climate adaptation into cooperation policies, enhancing private sector participation in adaptation, and strengthening climate-resilient development through just financing.

H.E. Minister Al-Mashat pointed out that the knowledge exchange mechanism for triangular cooperation under the Brazilian presidency of the G20 could allow countries to exchange expertise, enhance national tripartite cooperation systems, develop tools and guidelines, improve data management, as well as establish funding mechanisms for triangular cooperation, confirming that Egypt will spare no effort in supporting and enhancing south-south cooperation, not only as a prominent emerging economy in the Middle East and North Africa region but also as chair of the next NEPAD until 2025.

In conclusion, Al-Mashat highlighted that the upcoming Summit of the Future, scheduled for September, represents an opportunity to showcase the power of international cooperation in addressing both current and emerging challenges. Through adopting a Pact for the Future, the summit will reaffirm existing commitments, while moving towards a reinvigorated multilateral system better positioned to impact people’s lives positively.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Planning and Economic Development – Egypt.

Under the leadership of Empa scientist Mashael Yazdanie, an international research team is investigating ways to better plan for climate-resilient energy systems in the Global South. Focusing on the case study of Accra, the capital of Ghana, the multidisciplinary team expanded conventional energy system modeling approaches by incorporating a range of socio-techno-economic challenges, climate change impacts, and resilience metrics into their models. Their approaches are applicable worldwide to support widespread sustainable and resilient energy system transitions.

What criteria should we use to better plan for resilient energy systems? How do socio-economic, technical and climate change related challenges affect sustainable energy systems planning worldwide? What does the situation look like in a region outside the European industrialized perspective? With these questions in mind, four years ago, the research project Energy Modeling for the Real World Transforming Modeling Approaches for Sustainable and Resilient Energy Planning (MEASURES) embarked on an interdisciplinary study, using Ghana as a case study region. The aim was to formulate modeling approaches that yield optimal recommendations for climate-resilient energy planning considering various dimensions – energy demand, infrastructure, climate data, resiliency and robustness of a system and an array of socio-economic factors – that can be applied to cities and countries across the globe.

In their studies, the scientists paid particular attention to issues that are not taken into account in traditional energy models: climate change-induced extreme weather events, climate migration, informal economic systems (i.e., economic activities that are unmonitored and unaccounted for in official GDP figures), unstable currencies, power system failures and suppressed energy demand (e.g., due to poor infrastructure or financial resources). Ghana, in particular, faces these challenges, which makes the region an ideal case study. Thus, Mashael Yazdanie, Group Leader of Macro-Energy Systems at Empa’s Urban Energy Systems Laboratory, spearheaded the cross-disciplinary, international MEASURES project, funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) between 2020 and 2023.

A specific course of action based on regional characteristics

The researchers examined a range of challenges relevant to energy system planning in Accra. What climate change-related environmental changes are to be expected in the coming decades? How will these affect regional migration? What influence does the informal economy and suppressed energy demand have on strategic energy planning? To what extent will currency depreciation thwart energy planning and the development of sustainable energy infrastructure? Using the open-source modeling framework, OSeMOSYS, they developed an energy system model for Accra and investigated these issues. The model yielded cost-, carbon- and resilience-optimized energy system capacity and operational planning decisions for Accra, considering its unique local conditions.

For example, concerning the deployment of sustainable energy technologies under the threat of currency depreciation, the researchers find that “investments in photovoltaic and wind energy are most affected by rising depreciation in the case of Accra. If PV systems are part of larger sustainability commitments in Accra – as prescribed by Accra’s current Climate Action Plan – our results indicate that these investments should take place earlier rather than later in the planning horizon to ensure affordable deployment.” According to their study, Accra should additionally focus on efficient waste resource capture and utilization, as well as decarbonization of transportation through fleet electrification for robust and sustainable urban energy system planning.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Federal Council, Switzerland.

Ambassador Richard Kabonero, Uganda National Coordinator for the Northern Corridor Integrated Projects (NCIPs), delivered impactful addresses at the ongoing Single Customs Territory (SCT) and Immigration, Tourism, Trade and Services (ITTLS) Cluster meetings, underway from July 25-26, 2024 in Kigali.

In his remarks, at the SCT cluster meeting, Ambassador Kabonero commended the Republic of Rwanda on the successful conclusion of the recent Presidential elections. Emphasizing the critical importance of eliminating trade barriers and enhancing infrastructure to facilitate smoother regional trade within the Northern Corridor, Kabonero acknowledged Rwanda’s leadership in convening the meetings, underscoring the significant progress made under various projects such as the Standard Gauge Railway and ICT Infrastructure Development.

Transitioning to the ITTLS Cluster, Ambassador Kabonero reaffirmed Uganda’s unwavering commitment to the NCIPs. He unpacked the cluster’s directives aimed at bolstering regional integration through improved trade, immigration, tourism, and labor services. Emphasizing the urgency of implementing these directives, he highlighted their potential to yield substantial economic benefits for all member states.

Assuring of continued collaboration among Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda in advancing these pivotal regional projects in regional integration Amb. Kabonero said it was important for all the Partner states to remain steadfast. “In our pursuit of regional integration and economic transformation through the NCIPs, Uganda remains steadfast in fostering collaboration and eliminating barriers to trade. Together with our regional partners, we are committed to realizing tangible benefits that will uplift the livelihoods of our people,” he said

Ambassador Kabonero expressed gratitude to Rwanda for hosting both meetings and reaffirmed the dedication and resilience of all Member States in pursuing the goals established at the 14th NCIPs Heads of State Summit, adding “As Uganda prepares to host forthcoming meetings for other NCIPs clusters, we stand ready to report concrete deliverables at the 15th Summit, reflecting progress achieved since the inception of these initiatives in 2018”.

The Uganda delegation is led by Amb. Richard Kabonero, Coordinator of the Northern Corridor Implementation Projects, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and includes, Amb. Gen. Robert Rusoke , High Commissioner of Uganda to Rwanda and Deputy High Commissioner Amb. Margaret Kedisi, Mr. Cleopas Ndorere, Commissioner external trade, officials from URA customs and ICT departments and senior officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Uganda – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Held within the framework of the Regional Commission for Africa, “Promoting Africa to Unlock Tourism Investments and the Sector’s Growth Potential”, brought together public and private sector leaders to identify new opportunities and find shared solutions to the most pressing challenges. The Forum formed part of UN Tourism’s wider emphasis on empowering its Members to advance a new, positive narrative for the sector across the continent.  

Celebrating uniqueness of African tourism  

Welcoming the high-level participants, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed the importance of working closely with African Member States on promoting both the uniqueness and the diversity of tourism in the region. His sentiments were echoed by Executive Director Natalia Bayona, who also emphasized the urgent need to grow investments into the sector to fuel innovation and creativity, thereby putting African destinations more firmly on the global tourism map.  

Alongside key UN Tourism experts, stakeholders included the CEO of Zambia Tourism Agency, as well as the heads of Africa Tourism Partners, and key figures from leading civil society actors and businesses from the region, including Meta. Discussions focused on strengthening Brand Africa, including through greater public-private collaboration. Delegates also shared their insights into revolutionizing the image of African in order to drive greater tourism competitiveness, while top media thinkers provided their insights into Think Tank discussions on “shifting the narrative” of African tourism.  

Investments to advance Brand Africa  

Reflecting the importance of investments for advancing Brand Africa, the event also saw the official launch of the latest in UN Tourism’s series of Investment Guidelines. The latest publication, focused on Zambia, again provides vital information for international investors, identifying key areas of growth and other opportunities within Zambia’s burgeoning tourism sector.  

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).