"Women around the world have proven their capabilities to make decisions and solve problems through their leadership of international organisations, governments, and ministries in different countries," Mohieldin said during his participation in the opening session of Gender Day in Cairo “Women’s Agency in Climate Dialogue and Implementation, Win-Win for All.”
He noted that women are always at the heart of problems and always provide solutions.
Mohieldin said that women are victims of crises in the world, such as poverty, hunger, lack of funding, and lack of education, adding that two-thirds of the world's women suffer from the lack of education. Women represent 63 percent of the poor across the world, which stresses the need to enhance their access to education and finance.
He stressed the importance of pluralism and the need to improve women's participation in decision-making regarding development and climate action, pointing to the importance of the National Council for Women's initiative in raising awareness among women about climate issues.
Mohieldin pointed to women's active participation in the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects, in which they have submitted more than 1,000 projects out of about 6,000 that were registered
Three out of the 18 winning projects were submitted by women, he added.
He stressed the importance of fair finance flow through soft grants to developing countries in a way that contributes to empowering women in different fields.
Yasmine Fouad, the minister of environment, gave a speech on behalf of President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. Participants in the session included Rania El-Mashat, minister of international cooperation, Hala El-Said, minister of planning and economic development, Nevine El-Qabbaj, minister of social solidarity, Ghada Waly, underssecretary-general of the UN and executive director of the UN Office on Drugs, Maya Morsy, president of Egypt's National Council for Women, Sima Bahous, executive director of UN Women, and African women ministers, women leaders, and representatives of regional and international organisations.
In another session entitled “Women and Climate Change Finance" on Monday, Mohieldin stressed the need to enhance the role of women in the business sector, especially since COP27 is the summit of implementation and partnerships, by adopting a comprehensive approach and reviewing the rules relating to women's participation in this regard.
El-Mashat attended the event along with Maya Morsy, Director of Economic Inclusion and Gender Equality at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Barbara Rambosek, and Chad's environmental activist Hindu Omaru Ibrahim and Regional Director For the Global Center for Adaptation Anthony Nyong'o.
Mohieldin referred to the National Initiative for Smart Green Projects at the level of the Egyptian governorates in cooperation with the ministries of planning, environment, and international cooperation and a number of concerned parties. The initiative witnessed adequate representation of women in the six categories, but there is a need to strengthen their participation in this initiative, he added, noting that the initiative will be held every year.
He added that the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina Mohamed announced that the initiative will be a major part of the upcoming climate summits, pointing to the presentation of a number of winning projects in the initiative at COP27.
Mohieldin explained that many projects related to resilience in the face of climate change and projects related to food security are led by women, which requires the provision of easy financing means. He stressed that global financing conditions have a direct impact on women's participation in climate action at the local and international levels.
Mohieldin pointed to the need to promote long-term investments to support investable and bankable projects, especially in sectors that are difficult to direct investments to, praising the concessional financing policies of the International Development Agency.
He concluded his speech by emphasising the promotion of women's participation in leadership positions through appropriate legislation and a change in behaviour in this regard.
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