The Group of Twenty (G20), founded in 1999, is a global forum that brings together 19 countries and the European Union to discuss ways to strengthen financial and economic stability.
The G20 represents about 85 percent of global GDP, nearly 75 percent of world trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.
Initially limited to finance ministers and central bank governors, the G20 expanded after the 2008 financial crisis into an annual leaders’ summit. While its core mission is to stabilize the global economy and prevent crises, its agenda has grown to include climate change, food security, and other pressing global issues.
Against this backdrop, Cairo recently hosted the first G20 working group meeting on food security ever held outside a member state or the rotating presidency, a symbolic and practical milestone.
In this interview, Ambassador El-Etreby, the assistant foreign minister, discussed the importance of this event, Egypt’s growing role on the global stage, and Cairo’s contributions to international food security policy.
Ahram Online: At a time of overlapping crises in food and energy, what is the significance of Egypt hosting the third G20 meeting on food security?
Ragui El-Etreby: Hosting an official G20 meeting on food security in Cairo is of exceptional importance. It is the first time since the group’s establishment in 1999 that such a meeting has been convened outside the presidency or a member state.
This precedent underscores Egypt’s elevated standing within the G20, marking our third consecutive participation and fifth overall.
The meeting is not merely procedural; it crowns Egypt’s consistent, substantive contributions to the group.
AO: How does this hosting reflect Egypt’s growing international role?
RE: It reflects Egypt’s rising international weight and central role in advancing sustainable development in the region.
More importantly, it demonstrates Egypt’s substantive contributions to shaping G20 policies and outcomes.
As the premier forum for global economic governance, the G20 is tasked with crafting actionable solutions to international crises. Egypt’s engagement ensures that the voices and interests of developing and least-developed nations are firmly represented in this process.
AO: How do you assess the outcomes of the Cairo meeting and the messages it sent to the world?
RE: The Cairo meeting was convened at a moment of compounded challenges: volatile food prices, intensifying trade and geopolitical tensions, climate change threatening agricultural sustainability, and the disruptive pace of digital and technological transformation.
These interlinked crises required innovative approaches. The discussions in Cairo produced important convergences around principles for stabilizing food prices, improving storage capacity, and securing global and regional food supply chains.
The deliberations highlighted not only the urgency of coordinated action but also Egypt’s conviction that innovation and multilateralism are indispensable for ensuring food security in an era of turbulence.
AO: Did the meeting produce a concrete consensus?
RE: Yes. Despite divergent positions among member states, extended deliberations in Cairo led to consensus on proposed principles for food security. These covered price stabilization, storage facilitation, and supply chain resilience.
The joint presidency of Egypt and South Africa played a crucial role in achieving this convergence, particularly on the forthcoming ministerial statement to be adopted at the Cape Town ministerial meeting on 19 September.
These outcomes are expected to be reflected in the final documents of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on 22-23 November.
AO: From Egypt’s perspective, what are its most significant contributions to G20 food security policy?
RE: We used the Cairo meeting as a platform to highlight Egypt’s unprecedented national projects — expanding agricultural land, supporting smallholder farmers, and strengthening food security — as models for sustainable development.
We also emphasized Egypt’s role as a founding member of the Hunger and Poverty Alliance launched under Brazil’s presidency in 2024.
Equally important, Cairo facilitated policy convergence among G20 members, moving discussions beyond rhetoric to actionable outcomes aligned with both national priorities and multilateral commitments.
AO: Given the challenges of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, climate change, and soaring prices, what are Egypt’s food security priorities?
RE: Our approach is twofold: advancing Egypt’s own development agenda while amplifying the concerns of developing and least-developed countries in multilateral forums.
At the Cairo meeting, we highlighted the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and called for immediate, unhindered humanitarian access, stressing that starvation must never be weaponized against civilians.
We also underscored the climate-food security nexus, stressing the importance of adaptation and the urgent need for concessional finance to support vulnerable states.
Developed countries must honour their commitments so that developing nations can achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
AO: Is there scope for building regional coalitions within the Global South on food security?
RE: Absolutely. In an era of complex, interlocking crises, non-traditional, multi-track solutions are indispensable.
Strengthening South–South partnerships is critical, not as a substitute for North–South cooperation, but as a complementary force.
Such coalitions allow Global South countries to coordinate positions, articulate shared priorities, and defend their interests more effectively.
AO: How do you view the future of Egypt’s cooperation with the G20?
RE: Egypt intends to further deepen its participation in the G20, which remains the foremost platform for global economic governance.
Our objective is to maximize the benefits of this engagement for national development and ensure that the concerns of developing countries, especially in Africa, receive due prominence.
By doing so, we seek to promote more balanced G20 outcomes, broaden the scope of crisis-resolution approaches, and ensure that multilateral solutions are inclusive and equitable.
In essence, Egypt’s engagement aims to elevate both its national development priorities and the collective interests of the Global South within the G20 framework.
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