Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad attended on Tuesday the signing of an agreement with the United Nations Industrial Development Program (UNIDO) and the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) to invest more than dlrs 3 million in the “Green Hurghada” project.
The project is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
The deal was signed by EEAA head Ali Abusnina, Director of the UNIDO Regional Office in Egypt Patrick Gilbert, Deputy Regional Director of UNIDO in Cairo Ahmed Rizk and UNIDO Program Officer Gihan Bayoumi.
In a statement, the minister said the project builds on the successful experience of working to transform Sharm El Sheikh city into a green city during the preparation for Egypt’s hosting of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP-27) in November 2023.
Greening Hurghada aims to support measures to mitigate GHG emissions and preserve biodiversity in the coastal area of Hurghada through mainstreaming climate-smart technologies and biodiversity conservation practices in tourism, energy and transport infrastructure, she added.
The GEF-financed project is being implemented in cooperation between the Environment Ministry, on behalf of the Egyptian government, and the UNIDO program, she said.
The ministry is responsible for establishing the Project Steering Committee (PSC), the main oversight and decision making body within the project, supervising the implementation of project activities, and coordinating the work and participation of ministries and agencies at the national level, she further noted.
Director of the UNIDO Regional Office in Egypt Patrick Gilbert expressed his happiness with the signing of the “Green Hurghada” project agreement, in cooperation with the Environment Ministry, which affects one of the vital industries in Egypt; the tourism industry.
He considered Egypt as one of the most important tourist destinations in the continent.
