Egyptian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat held a series of bilateral meetings with officials from Japan, UNICEF, and the French Treasury on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) to discuss strengthening international cooperation, her ministry said on Saturday.
In a meeting with Hara Shohei, Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Al-Mashat discussed the future of Egyptian-Japanese relations and efforts to empower the private sector in Egypt. The two sides reviewed a joint report titled “Shared Relations: 70 Years of Friendship and Trust” and discussed expanding cooperation to include advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and industrial localisation, the ministry said in a statement.
Al-Mashat also met with Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Their discussions focused on joint development cooperation priorities, efforts to enhance human development, and the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Egypt. They also covered the “Shabab Balad” national youth empowerment initiative and UNICEF’s role in supporting refugees and migrants in Egypt.
With William Ross, Assistant Minister of the French Treasury for Multilateral Affairs, Development, and Trade, discussions addressed the global development financing agenda. According to the statement, the talks touched on solutions to debt challenges faced by developing countries, Egypt’s experience with debt-for-development swaps, and the recommendations of the U.N. Secretary-General’s Expert Group on debt distress.
The meetings followed the conclusion of the TICAD9 conference, which aimed to consolidate relations between Japan and African countries and create multilateral partnerships to implement the continent’s development agenda.
