The Summit of the Future is being promoted as a turning point, an opportunity to forge a new international consensus on how to deliver a better present and safeguard the future. What is it about and what are its objectives?

The summit is a turning point because it is taking place when our world is plagued with multiple crises and conflicts, at a time when climate change poses an existential threat to our survival. Effective global cooperation is needed more now than ever before.

The summit offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to restore trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can be effective in tackling emerging threats and build on opportunities. The aim of the summit is two-fold: to accelerate efforts to meet existing international commitments and take concrete steps to respond to emerging challenges and opportunities.

The main outcome of the summit will be an inter-governmentally agreed and action-oriented pact for the future. The pact will have five chapters: sustainable development and financing for development; international peace and security; science, technology, innovation, and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and transforming global governance. Human rights, empowerment of women and girls and poverty eradication will be cross-cutting.

The pact will be negotiated and endorsed by countries in the lead-up to and during the summit. It must offer solutions for a better, fairer, more peaceful and more sustainable world. Above all, it must demonstrate that multilateralism can deliver for everyone, everywhere.

 

Developing countries are the most affected by ongoing conflicts and the devastating impacts of climate change. How and why does the summit matter for developing nations?

The summit aims to address critical global challenges and foster a more inclusive and effective multilateral system through advancing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). One of the core objectives of the summit is to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. This includes unlocking finance for developing countries, ensuring more equitable digital transition and promoting sustainable food and energy systems. Such measures are vital if developing nations are to achieve economic growth and social development.

The summit seeks to reform the international financial architecture to better reflect economic realities and provide effective safety nets for developing countries. This includes debt relief solutions, increased climate financing, global financial safety, sustainable finance and a more inclusive global tax architecture.

The summit will also work on a Global Digital Compact aimed at ensuring equitable access to digital technologies and safeguarding human rights in digital spaces. This is especially relevant for developing countries that face digital divides, limiting their economic and social potential.

Developing countries often bear the brunt of climate change impacts. The summit will focus on enhancing global cooperation to combat climate change, protect biodiversity and promote sustainable development which are crucial for resilience and prosperity.

To address both traditional and emerging threats to global security, the summit will advance a New Agenda for Peace. The goal is to prevent conflicts, which are more prevalent and devastating in developing regions, and ensure that peace and security efforts take human rights, gender equality and sustainable development into consideration.

By addressing these key issues, the Summit of the Future seeks to create a more equitable and sustainable global order, one in which the benefits of development and security are shared by all nations, particularly those in the developing world.

 

The United Nations Mission in Egypt is working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. What has been achieved in this regard?

The SDGs are everyone’s goals. Egypt was an early adopter of the 2030 UN Agenda and the SDGs and its approach to sustainable development is anchored in Egypt’s own Vision 2030 which aligns directly with all 17 SDGs.

In 2023, we signed the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) 2023-27 with the government of Egypt outlining our shared vision and priority areas for collaboration. The cooperation framework aligns closely with the government’s sustainable development vision and will guide our partnership in support of SDG acceleration.

Under the UNSDCF, we are mobilising the full range of UN assets, providing integrated policy advice and normative support, leveraging our convening power, while continuing to deliver direct support on the ground to those in need.

The UN Country Team Annual Results Report 2023 presents the impact of UN work across our five UNSDCF outcome areas, detailing the collective achievements of all 28 UN agencies, funds, and programmes in 2023. The total delivery of development activities by the UN in Egypt in 2023 was over $209 million.

Our work in Egypt is guided by the principle of leaving no one behind. The UN partnered with the government to strengthen overall implementation of the SDGs through joint development of a new Integrated National Financing Strategy, a set of prioritised reforms and initiatives for securing Egypt’s sustainable financing needs.

In 2023, the UN and Egypt’s government collaborated to enhance health service provision by providing 3.6 million people with health and reproductive services. We are also proud of our contribution to the landmark Global Health and Population Congress, laying a strong foundation for a healthier future for Egypt.

The UN has also helped create an environment for more inclusive and sustainable private sector development and jobs, through our direct support and promotion of entrepreneurs and income-generating opportunities for women. Around 316,000 job seekers, including refugees, benefited from UN-supported enhanced skills programmes in 2023.

The UN in Egypt has placed youth at the centre of our cooperation framework. In advance of COP28, we supported the Local Conference of Youth (LCOY) that brought together 1,500 young people from across Egypt to share ideas, learn about climate change and make recommendations for action.

UN programmes like Dawwie and Noura, the National Girls’ Empowerment Initiative, have helped empower adolescent girls become agents of change within their communities.

A defining characteristic of recent years has been our agility and adaptability in helping Egypt respond to emerging challenges. This has been particularly important as conflicts erupted on Egypt’s borders, first in Sudan and then in Gaza, just as Egypt was grappling with cost-of-living challenges triggered by the war in Ukraine.

 

The United Nations is mobilising humanitarian aid for Gaza. How are you coordinating with the Egyptian authorities on this?

The UN in Egypt has been working hand-in-hand with the Egyptian government to deliver crucial aid such as food, medicines and shelter materials to those in desperate need in Gaza since the early days of the conflict.

The UN coordinates with the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) to accelerate the delivery of assistance to Gaza. Our UN team in Arish closely collaborates with the ERC in Arish on logistics, prioritisation of aid (based on information from humanitarian partners inside Gaza) as well as information management and the tracking of assistance.

While we continue to work on logistical solutions, an immediate ceasefire, as reiterated by the UN secretary-general, is the only viable option to end the bloodshed and allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza at the speed and scale needed.

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* A version of this article appears in print in the 8 August, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly