Cairo

The activities of the Arab Sustainable Development Week, in its fifth edition, were launched under the patronage of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, under the title “Sustainable Solutions for a Better Future… Resilience and Adaptability in an Developing Arab World” at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, in cooperation with partners from the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank, the Al Baraka Forum for Islamic Economics, and the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation.

The opening session was attended by many prominent figures, including His Excellency the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Her Excellency Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, His Excellency Dr. Ashraf Sobhi, Minister of Youth and Sports, His Excellency Counselor Adnan Fangari, Minister of Justice, Stephane Gimbert, Regional Director for Egypt, Yemen, Djibouti, and the Middle East and North Africa at the World Bank Group, Elena Panova, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in the Arab Republic of Egypt, His Excellency Ambassador Mohamed Khair Abdel Qader, Secretary-General of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy, Youssef Khalawi, Secretary-General of the Al-Baraka Forum for Islamic Economics, and a number of ministers, ambassadors, and representatives of the United Nations and the World Bank.

For his part, His Excellency Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, stressed that holding the Sustainable Development Week 2024 provides an opportunity to work together to draw a roadmap to find flexible practical solutions that will accelerate the pace of implementation to achieve sustainable development for our Arab region and have a significant impact on improving the living conditions of Arab citizens and improving the quality of life in our Arab countries.

While the Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, Her Excellency Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, said that the Arab Sustainable Development Week has become a prominent regional platform for constructive dialogue between representatives of governments, the private sector, civil society, and representatives of the women, youth, and media sectors, in addition to universities, specialized research centers, and Arab, regional, and international organizations, all of which seek to enhance cooperation in order to achieve sustainable development, after the tangible successes witnessed in previous sessions.

She added that Egypt has been keen to host and organize the event over the years with fruitful cooperation and extended development partnership with the League of Arab States and a number of international development partners, adding that the Arab Sustainable Development Week is being held amid ongoing and accelerating economic, financial and geopolitical changes and challenges, especially the unfortunate humanitarian conditions experienced by our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon.

She explained that Egypt is also working to continue implementing development initiatives and major national projects, while mobilizing the resources and funding required by these projects. At the forefront of these projects is the presidential initiative, Decent Life, which targets all Egyptian rural villages to transform them into sustainable rural communities that provide all development needs, thus enhancing the state’s efforts to localize sustainable development goals and achieve balanced regional development.

While Elena Panova, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Arab Republic of Egypt, praised the role of the League of Arab States in efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals in the Arab region, and stressed the urgent need to adopt transformative approaches to deal with the challenges we all face, pointing to the escalation of climate crises, political instability and economic gaps, and appreciated the partnership between the Arab League and the United Nations, which supports sustainable development efforts in Egypt and the Arab region.

His Excellency Ambassador Mohamed Khair Abdel Qader, Secretary-General of the Arab Federation for Digital Economy, participated with a working paper on artificial intelligence and robotics for sustainability in the Technology and Innovation axis, in which he explained the relationship between artificial intelligence and sustainable development goals and its use in enhancing the efficiency of natural resource use and developing vital sectors such as health, education, agriculture, sustainable urban development, improving services, enhancing transparency, and supporting social justice.