وزير التنمية المحلية يشهد ختام النسخة الثالثة من دورة تأهيل الكوادر الأفريقية

Major General Hisham Amna, Minister of Local Development, witnessed this evening, Thursday, the conclusion of the third edition of the training course to qualify African local cadres, which was entitled (The Role of Local Administrations in Confronting Food Waste), which is organized by the Ministry of Local Development in coordination with the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which It was held from December 10 to 14, 2023, in the presence of Dr. Ghada Shalabi, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Tourism Sector Affairs, Ambassador Mohamed Azmy, Deputy Director of the Agency, and a number of leaders of the Ministry of Local Development.

The Minister of Local Development handed over certificates to 21 trainees from 15 African countries: “Tanzania – Cameroon – Malawi – Seychelles – Burkina Faso – Mali – Somalia – Côte d’Ivoire – Comoros – Guinea Conakry – South Sudan – Niger – Djibouti – Gambia – Gabon.” The training course allowed African cadres to study food value chains, the impact of unhealthy consumption on nutrition and food security, the development of local administration and its relationship to food waste, and the role of localities in financing medium, small and micro enterprises through the presentation of the programs “Mashrouak”, the Local Development Fund, the Solid Waste System and Media Crises. In addition to presenting the Egyptian experience in achieving sustainable development goals in Egypt within the framework of Egypt’s Vision 2030 and the Egyptian Human Building Initiative, and other Egyptian initiatives praised by the world and international organizations.

During his speech, Major General Hisham Amna confirmed that Egypt witnessed this week, with the start of the training course, a democratic wedding during the voting process that took place to choose the President of the Republic, and the distinguished percentage of voting rates came to confirm that we in Egypt and in our African continent are on the sound democratic path as one of the most important pillars of development.

The Minister of Local Development said: “I am pleased and honored to be with you today at the conclusion of the third session of African senior local leaders, which included a number of leaders from a variety of positions and specializations, such as mayors, governors, assistant ministers, department directors, and high-level experts in development and local work, and I am honored to attend the conclusion.” Its work, that session, in which I listened to an extensive presentation from my colleagues about the scientific and cognitive aspects it contained, in which the important role of local authorities in the cities, regions, and various governorates of Africa in achieving food security, and confronting food waste, which causes the loss of a percentage of no less than 33 – was discussed. 50% of our total agricultural production in Africa, whether through wrong practices in the initial stages of cultivation and harvesting methods, or in poor packaging, or ill-equipped transportation, and random, unplanned markets, with insufficient capacity in grain silos or refrigerators, and other wrong practices such as overconsumption. And unhealthy, all of which are practices that local administration cadres can overcome if they are well trained.

The Minister of Local Development pointed out that over the past ten years, Egypt has witnessed a pioneering process under the leadership of the President of the Republic, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, who fulfilled everything he promised his division. He pointed out the adoption of creative initiatives to achieve developmental justice, as he was interested, through the presidential initiative, A Decent Life, in developing the Egyptian countryside to witness 4,500 Egyptian villages are in a gradual but sustainable process of development in various fields of health, education, services, infrastructure, energy, irrigation, agriculture, transportation, and social and economic development, which contributes to improving the lives of more than 58 million citizens who did not receive care and enjoy the fruits of development like residents of urban areas.

Major General Hisham Amna continued: “The President of the Republic adopted an initiative to develop the Egyptian countryside and provide everything they need, so that his people, especially in the villages most in need, can enjoy the fruits of development that they have been deprived of for many decades,” noting President Sisi’s interest as well in slum areas, which witnessed the rehabilitation of their areas to have a more natural character. Decent urban life and a decent life in a suitable social, economic and health climate, which contributes to bridging social differences between city residents.

The Minister of Local Development explained that urban development represents one of the features of the first term of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. We created thousands of roads that seemed like arteries in the country’s geography, facilitating movement, transport and trade and reducing the pressures on the citizen and his movement, supported by modern means of transportation, including modernizing the train and railway network. In addition to the high-speed electric train and monorail, we have also established about 24 smart cities that will be pioneers in the process of economic and social development, in addition to the widespread universities and schools, health care centers and hospitals.

In his speech, Major General Hisham Amna touched on the digital Internet network, the infrastructure of banks, health and educational institutions across the Republic, in addition to the 100 Million Health Initiative, which affected all parts of the Republic and even the border governorates, which enjoyed unprecedented development rates, referring to the 100 Million Trees Project. Which restores the civilized face of our cities.

Major General Hisham Amna pointed out that Egypt and its political leadership did not forget the civilizational and cultural dimensions of the country and established the wonderful Museum of Civilization, saying, “I know that tomorrow you will visit it and you will see how development has affected the surrounding area adjacent to the museum in the “Ain Al-Sira” area, which was a slum area dangerous to humans and the environment, to transform into one. One of the most beautiful points of attraction in Cairo. He pointed out that within a few weeks the “Grand Egyptian Museum” will be opened, which is the largest museum in the world and includes a large collection of Pharaonic antiquities that chronicle the history of humanity and confirm to the world that Egypt embraced this historical geographical area of ​​our African continent. A wonderful civilization steeped in the roots of history. It was created by the ancient Egyptians, and today their descendants are repeating their renewed contribution to human history until today. They were and still are a people who love goodness, peace, and construction throughout the ages.

Major General Hisham Amna said, “I am fully confident that you came away from your visit to the New Administrative Capital yesterday with the truth that we all feel, which is that we in Egypt and on our dear African continent are capable of creating the future with our own hands and good design, and managing our needs with independence and pride, just as the corridors and streets of the new capital that you saw from Administrative, governmental and banking districts, buildings of agencies and ministries, Parliament and the Council of Ministers, the Grand Mosque and St. Mark’s Cathedral in the heart of the capital, and distinguished bodies, including, for example, the headquarters of the African Space Agency, which is decorated with the Egyptian Space Agency, and whose construction we have completed to express that our aspiration for the future is a reality and that it is time for our scientists spread throughout All over the world, from all parts of Africa, to return home and enjoy a life of pride and dignity, to give back to their continents the science and knowledge they have acquired.

The Minister of Local Development concluded his speech by saying: “I hope that the science and knowledge you have acquired will help you confront the challenges facing our continent and that you realize that the dream of “one Africa” is achievable, and that Africa, its Charter and its plan 2063 will be achieved towards the Africa that we all hope is safe, stable, emerging and developing, thanks to The effort of its people and the unity of its countries. Perhaps the joint efforts being made, within the framework of the African Free Trade Agreement, are evidence that we have the tools and, most importantly, we have the awareness and the will.

For his part, Ambassador Mohamed Azmy, Deputy Director of the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed his happiness at participating in the closing ceremony of the activities of the third training course for African cadres and the success of the program (The Role of Localities in Confronting Food Waste), which was organized in cooperation between the Ministry of Local Development and the Egyptian Agency for Partnership from For development, which comes within the framework of constructive cooperation and strong coordination that already exists between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Local Development in organizing many programs and training courses for cadres from African countries, taking into account the great capabilities and experience that the Ministry of Local Development enjoys in this field and the efforts of many countries. Sister and friend to cooperate with.

Ambassador Mohamed Azmy reviewed the role of the Egyptian Agency in supporting and activating what defines Egyptian diplomacy and its pivotal role in our contemporary time. The Agency represents one of the main development arms of the Egyptian state concerned with promoting and developing cooperation with the countries of the South, especially African countries. The Agency also aims to employ Egyptian expertise and capabilities to serve our brothers in The countries of the South to support them in achieving their development goals.

The Deputy Director of the Egyptian Agency pointed out that the Agency has been keen, since its inauguration in 2014, to employ all the tools available to it in order to support African countries by organizing many training courses and capacity-building programs in various fields, pointing to the Agency’s success in organizing more than 400 programs to build the capabilities of African trainees. This is in cooperation with all international, regional and national institutions with expertise in various topics. The agency also sends many Egyptian experts to African countries to meet their needs in various fields, as the number of Egyptian experts has reached 40 female Egyptian experts.

Ambassador Mohamed Azmy added that the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development believes in a main principle, which is providing solutions to African problems, which enhances the sense of ownership of various development projects among its people in a way that supports the continuity and sustainability of the projects, stressing that the Egyptian Agency comes in line with the goals of the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, And Africa Strategy 2063.

For their part, the African trainees thanked His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for the great interest he gives to training and building the capabilities of African cadres in various fields to achieve development and progress for the countries of the African continent.

They also thanked the Ministry of Local Development and the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development for organizing the training course, which they benefited from in their fields of work, and indicated that they will try to implement some of the ideas and proposals that they trained on during the training course activities in their countries after their return.

The African trainees also praised the training content they obtained during the training course, the topics of which varied. They also praised the great boom that Egypt has witnessed during recent years in various sectors, especially the construction of the new administrative capital and tourist facilities and buildings, including the National Museum of Civilization. They also expressed their fascination with national projects such as the Local development in Upper Egypt, and the presidential initiative “A Decent Life” to develop the Egyptian countryside, which aims to improve the standard of living of individuals, especially in the areas most in need, and achieve developmental justice in all parts of the Egyptian state.

They also expressed their wishes for the continuation of these courses to benefit from Egyptian expertise in various fields and transfer them to African countries while exchanging experiences between the countries of the continent.