By: Mohamed Moussa and Ayman Rushdi
Development in Egypt is a model for Africa. This statement came during a meeting between Governor of Cairo Khaled Abdel Aal and Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) on Saturday.
President Abdel Fattah El Sisi supports all actions towards sustainable development goals in the African continent, the governor said.
The government has worked hard during the last eight years to develop basic infrastructure for the new republic in order to improve public services.
He referred to the presidential rural development initiative Decent Life, which President Sisi launched in 2019 — the largest project of its kind in the world, reaching the smallest villages nationwide — to improve living standards for 60 million people at a cost of LE700 billion.
Decent Life is also a cultural and educational initiative to raise public awareness of the effects of overpopulation on development, the governor added.
The political leadership is determined to clear slums and provide residents a decent life, Abdel Aal said.
The New Administrative Capital is a model of institutional development and urban growth as many ministries have moved their headquarters to the NAC, Abdel Aal added.
Cairo had the honour of hosting the previous ULG Africa, he said, adding that the North African office of the United African Cities and Local Governments Organisation is headquartered in the Egyptian capital.
For his part, the secretary general of the ULG Africa said Egypt is one of founders of the organisation and hailed the development in Egypt, describing it as a model for Africa.
Mbassi invited Abdel Aal to the Executive Council meeting on June 3 in the Kenyan city of Kisumu, prior to the summit in Nairobi to discuss ways to implement the Decent Life Initiative in Africa.
