Minister Fouad said this while speaking at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), which is being held in Nice, France, from 9 to 13 June.
The move is part of the Egyptian Red Sea Initiative, a $14 million project to safeguard roughly 99,899 hectares of coral reefs along the Red Sea.
During the conference, Fouad outlined Egypt’s environmental efforts, emphasizing its commitment to multilateral action and national initiatives.
The effort includes constructing over 70 kilometres of nature-based solutions across five governorates to improve resilience and ensure sustainable living conditions for coastal communities.
She clarified that other measures include addressing extreme weather through stakeholder partnerships, rehabilitating northern lakes to support fishing communities, and greening key ports such as Damietta, Port Said, and the Suez Canal.
Fouad added that the cabinet decided to enforce extended producer responsibility for single-use plastic bags earlier this year.
She explained that the measure, set to take effect imminently, aims to curb plastic pollution and aligns with global efforts to finalize an international plastics treaty (ICC5.2).
Furthermore, Fouad announced a new agreement to protect marine biodiversity, with plans to integrate biodiversity targets into Egypt’s updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) ahead of the COP30 climate summit.
She added that Egypt is developing a comprehensive blue economy strategy to be finalized before COP30 in November.
"2025 serves as stark evidence of the interconnectedness of global environmental challenges," the minister expressed.
She also cited rising sea levels, coral bleaching, severe weather patterns, increasing community migration due to job displacement, and plastic pollution's direct link to marine degradation.
The UNOC3 brought together a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including government representatives, international financial institutions, NGOs, researchers, civil society groups, and the private sector, to discuss critical ocean issues.
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