President Abdel Fattah El Sisi inaugurated the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation summit, held in New Administrative Capital on Thursday .
Themed “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy”, the event brought together the leaders of the organisation’s member states and a number of leaders of developing countries and regional and international organisations.
During the opening session, President Sisi assumed the rotating presidency of the D8 and delivered a keynote address emphasising the importance of solidarity and joint efforts among developing nations in addressing global challenges, said the Presidency Spokesman Ambassador Mohamed el-Shennawy.
He added that the president highlighted, in his address, the significance of investing in the youth as a foundation for future progress and supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as key drivers of economic growth and development.
“Today, the summit of the organisation convenes under the theme “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy”. This theme is of paramount significance, as it focuses on the imperative to invest in the youth, the architects of our nations’ present and future. This is in addition to its economic aspects, which are closely connected to reinforcing SMEs, the driving force for economic growth in developing countries,” Ambassador Shennawy quoted President Sisi as saying.
President Sisi also expressed concern over the growing challenges faced by developing nations, including economic instability, conflicts, and limited access to funding and technology.
“We gather today at a juncture marked by unprecedented challenges and crises afflicting the world, and the Middle East in particular. The global landscape is dominated by conflicts and wars, exacerbated by the rise of economic and trade protectionism and the prevalence of double-standards,” Sisi said.
“Perhaps, the starkest evidence of this is the persistent Israeli war against the Palestinian people, which blatantly defies the resolutions of international legitimacy. This is compounded by the risk and threat of the conflict spilling over into other countries, as evidenced by Israeli’s war on Lebanon and Syria, which is under relentless attack on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The potential for further escalation could ignite the region, with devastating political and economic ramifications for all,” the president further noted.
Developing countries are encountering formidable challenges, impeding their endeavors to fulfil their peoples’ aspirations for prosperity and development. With the lack of funding, mounting debt, a widening digital and knowledge divide, and increasing poverty, hunger and youth unemployment rates, developing countries are grappling with the persistent challenge of achieving meaningful progress and growth.
Addressing these complex challenges, President said told the gathering, requires concerted efforts to forge closer cooperation and implement joint projects and initiatives in various spheres, primarily in communications and information technology, digital economy, AI applications, agriculture, transformative industries, new and renewable energy, notably green hydrogen, as well as supporting and developing SMEs.
Despite the diversity of our economic conditions, we all concur on the indispensable need to share our knowledge and successful experiences to realize the Sustainable Development Goals. Egypt is fully prepared to share its successful experiences with member states, notably the “Decent Life” and “Takaful w Karama” initiatives, as well as its infrastructure and urban development projects.
To advance these goals, President Sisi announced several initiatives to be launched during Egypt’s presidency of the D8, including in the foremost, establishing a network for directors of diplomatic institutes to enhance cooperation and capacity-building in diplomacy.
Launching an electronic competition for pre-university students in science, engineering, and applied technology, and creating a network for economic think tanks to facilitate collaboration on trade and investment strategies, as well as convening periodic meetings of health ministers to discuss leveraging advanced technology in healthcare, are also among the prime initiatives Egypt set to finalise during its presidency of the D8.
The president also reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to enhancing intra-trade among member states by ratifying the organisation’s preferential trade agreement, Shennawy said.
President Sisi concluded by expressing hope for fruitful discussions and reiterated Egypt’s commitment to fostering economic growth and co-operation among D8 member states.
At the end of today’s session, the representatives of People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Türkiye adopted what is called the “Cairo Declaration”.
In such a declaration, the participating countries reiterated their pledge to advance shared development goals under the principles of fraternity, peace, dialogue, justice, equality, rule of law, and democracy, established during the founding of the D-8.
