Egypt’s Minister of Environment Yasmine Fouad affirmed that Egypt, through its various agencies, will spare no effort in launching the African Center of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation and ensuring that it will play an active and influential role and meet the demands of the African continent’s people, especially in areas most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
These remarks were made during a meeting between the minister, on her first day of work in the new government, and Executive Director of the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) Nardos Bekele-Thomas.
The two sides reviewed joint steps to launch the African Center of Excellence for Resilience and Adaptation, which will be hosted in Cairo, and visited the center’s location at the Environmental Education Cultural Center (Beit El Qahira).
The minister stressed the importance of focusing on two key aspects during the diligent work of the two teams responsible for launching the center from NEPAD and the Ministry of Environment. It is crucial to learn from the lessons and experiences of other Centers of Excellence and understand the reasons behind the closure of the Center of Excellence in South Africa to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the new center’s work.
The African official, on her part, congratulated Fouad on the renewed confidence from the political leadership and her re-appointment as the minister of environment in the new government.
She praised Fouad’s significant efforts in the environmental field during the past period and expressed her hope that the center would play its role in highlighting the issues faced by the African continent due to climate change, finding the best solutions, and encouraging the private sector to invest in environmental initiatives to confront climate challenges, especially in South Africa. She also looked forward to joint cooperation in providing various resources and involving entities in resource mobilization and supplying the necessary tools to achieve the center’s objectives.
Fouad and the African official inspected the center’s premises at Beit El Qahira, which is affiliated with the Ministry of Environment. They expressed hope to strengthen joint cooperation in the coming period to expedite the launch of the center to serve the continent.
The hosting of the center is based on a proposal submitted by Egypt during its presidency of the African Union as an initiative to enhance African efforts for adaptation.
