Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait called on his African counterparts to adopt a unified African vision on issues of financing and climate change.
He proposed holding several joint preparatory meetings in light of Cairo’s preparations for the COP27 Climate Summit, which will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh Red Sea Resort in late 2022.
This came during his meeting on Monday with Vera Songwe, the Undersecretary-General of the UN and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa.
He underlined Egypt’s keenness to enhance cooperation between the two sides in a way that helps make the event a success.
Maait said he discussed with Songwe various initiatives that will be presented at the summit to achieve the aspirations of African countries, which seek to provide the necessary funding sources to address climate change.
He also reviewed the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on African economies, including the surge in oil prices and food commodities, especially wheat, the Ministry said in a statement.
He also underlined the importance of reaching mechanisms to protect African countries and economies from such global challenges, including discussing the establishment of joint hedge funds.
Both sides further discussed the project submitted by the Economic Commission for Africa to establish a liquidity and sustainability facility, which would contribute to alleviating the burdens of African countries borrowing from international financial markets.
In addition, talks touched on African preparations for the upcoming meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, while underscoring the importance of African coordination to defend the continent’s interests.
Songwe invited Maait to participate in the meetings of African finance ministers in Dakar in May.
