Rédaction Africa Links 24 with MENA
Published on 2024-02-19 10:36:11
Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad met with Dutch Ambassador to Egypt Peter Mollema to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of environment and strengthen partnerships in environmental and climate investments. Also present at the meeting were Advisor to the Minister of Environment for Multilateral Agreements Raouf Saad, Climate Policy Officer at the Embassy Dina Tawfik, and several leaders from the Ministry of Environment.
Fouad highlighted recent developments in Egypt’s environmental sector, as part of the political leadership’s directives to integrate environmental, climate, and biodiversity aspects into various development sectors and change the perception of the environment to be an economic driver. In collaboration with the Ministries of Planning and Finance, the Ministry of Environment issued the first environmental sustainability standards in Egypt in 2019, to be integrated into the general budget with the goal of reaching 100 percent of national projects as green by 2030. Egypt also announced the first green bonds in the Middle East and North Africa to implement green projects.
She also discussed Egypt’s steps towards integrating environment and climate into development sectors, including placing the National Council for Climate Change under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, with membership from various ministries and concerned entities. Egypt also launched the first Environmental and Climate Investment Forum in September, highlighting promising investment opportunities in this field.
Fouad also highlighted Egypt’s international role in hosting important conferences on biodiversity and climate, and its ongoing support for Arab and African brethren in protecting the environment. She pointed out priority areas for cooperation with the Dutch side, including water and agriculture, which are national priorities and important aspects of the National Climate Strategy 2050 and the updated National Contributions Plan.
This cooperation is within the framework of the NOVI program for Energy-Water-Food nexus projects, aimed at encouraging the private sector to invest in these areas by linking mitigation and adaptation projects to climate change and addressing the impact of climate change on water, crops, and small-scale farmers. She also highlighted the successful cooperation in implementing the Climate Change Adaptation Project in the North Coast and Nile Delta, utilizing Dutch technology.
Mollema, for his part, emphasized his country’s interest in phasing out fossil fuels by 2050 and transitioning to green energy while reducing carbon emissions. He expressed his country’s commitment to supporting developing countries in achieving a just energy transition. The diplomat also expressed his country’s interest in cooperating with Egypt in the field of green hydrogen production and seizing available investment opportunities.
He affirmed his country’s interest in enhancing cooperation with Egypt, especially in the areas of resource conservation and environmental preservation. He highlighted the importance of identifying national priorities as promising opportunities for partnership and cooperation, creating partnerships between the Dutch and Egyptian private sectors. The ambassador also mentioned the recent visit of a delegation of 25 Dutch companies to explore partnership opportunities with the Egyptian government and private sector in areas such as agriculture, energy, and waste-to-energy conversion.
Overall, the meeting between Minister Fouad and Ambassador Mollema aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation and partnership in environmental and climate investments between Egypt and the Netherlands. Both sides expressed their commitment to ongoing collaboration in priority areas such as water, agriculture, and green energy, and emphasized the potential for further cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries.
Read Original article on Egypt Independent
