CAIRO – International Co-operation Minister Rania el-Mashat praised the close relationship between the Egyptian government and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), highlighting its role in advancing the development agenda through aligning with national efforts aimed at supporting and empowering youth and strengthening social protection systems for children and mothers, as well as healthcare systems.
This came during a meeting she had with Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa, in the presence of Jeremy Hopkins, the organisation’s resident representative in Egypt, and senior officials from the Ministry of International Co-operation, within the framework of the periodic talks she holds with multilateral and bilateral development partners to follow up on existing work files and enhance co-operation to back the country’s development priorities.
Discussions took up the ongoing work on reviewing and evaluating the United Nations country programme for joint co-operation 2018-2022, and what has been achieved over the past period with the aim of enhancing sustainable development efforts, with the minister noting that the close co-operation with UNICEF included the implementation of several joint co-operation programmes, which involved the government, the private and public sectors and civil society, in line with national priorities, especially the social protection programme Takaful and Karama and the “Haya Karima” (Decent Life) initiative, in addition to supporting the most needy groups, as well as persons with special needs, empowering young people and girls, as well as backing national development efforts especially in Upper Egypt.
She also touched on the developments in the preparation of the joint country programme for 2023-2027, which comes in conformity with government efforts in areas connected with development and protection of the rights of children, adolescents and youth. The joint country programme is scheduled to be approved at a meeting of UNICEF Executive Board in September.
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