SHARM EL-SHEIKH – Egyptian Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Ghada Wali said on Monday the UN and international community greatly appreciate Egypt’s efforts against corruption.
Wali was answering a question of MENA Editor-in-Chief Ali Hassan during a press conference held on the sidelines of the ninth session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the United Nations Convention against Corruption that kicked off in the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh this morning.
Wali noted that Egypt’s hosting of COSP stresses the State’s keenness to support the international community on anti-corruption issues, citing the country’s participation in global initiatives to prevent organised crime and corruption.
The UNODC chief conveyed the international community’s praise of the Egyptian experience in empowering women politically and economically, as well as empowering youth in the decision-making process.
She pointed out that the UN co-operated with the Egyptian government in launching two media campaigns to raise awareness of corruption, which achieved great success, referring to the UN cooperation with the National Anti-Corruption Academy in training 150 Sudanese experts to fight corruption.
Egypt participates in several initiatives, launched by UNODC, including GlobE, Stolen Assets Recovery (StAR), and Global Resource for Anti-Corruption Education and Youth Empowerment (GRACE), she mentioned.
Africa tops the world’s countries in the volume of funds looted and smuggled abroad by corrupt officials which is estimated to amount to $88 billion, she said.
