The United Nations recently appointed Egypt’s Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Sahar Nasr, as a member on the high level Advisory Board of the United Nations Development Program’s Social Impact Fund, making her the first woman, Egyptian and African to join the board.
Nasr has expressed her gratitude to the UNDP for choosing her as a member in the committee, which she says will help the program in the process of generating jobs for young people and women, allowing Egypt to achieve its developmental goals and sustainable development in general.
The minister said that during the period of her membership in the committee, she will work on supporting the implementation of several goals that mainly include developing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and empowering women economically.
In her meeting with UNDP Country Director Randa Aboul Hassan, Nasr discussed further cooperation to promote investment and enhance the business climate in order to achieve Egypt’s SDGs.
Discussions also addressed the required steps to set up an investment-supportive fund with developmental dimensions in Egypt that would encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship, provide job opportunities for youth and help realize development goals in Egypt.
As the minister is also the National Coordinator of the National Committee for the Follow-Up on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), she stressed that it was vital for all funds provided by the UNDP to be in line with the people’s priorities and the Egyptian government’s programs.
The efforts exerted in support of the SDGs in Egypt were also highlighted throughout the meeting. As the Coordinator of the National Committee for Monitoring SDGs, Nasr said she will be communicating with the various ministries engaged in the sustainable development strategy to help achieve the strategy’s goals.
Since taking office as the Minister of International Cooperation in September 2015, Nasr has taken several steps in restructuring and reforming the ministry; through the establishment of a unit for monitoring and evaluation, and a policy development-strategic planning unit to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of Official Development Assistance to Egypt.
Nasr has been focusing on strengthening Egypt’s ties with its existing international partners, as well as exploring new opportunities for cooperation, all through the establishment of mutually-beneficial partnerships.
She also serves as Governor of Egypt to several institutions, such as the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
