H.E. Dr. Hala El Said, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, held recently a technical meeting, via video conference technology, with the research team concerned with preparing the Human Development Report in Egypt 2020; which comes under the title "Development is a Right for All: Egypt is the Path and March".

The report is being prepared in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), to discuss the executive position of the report.

The meeting witnessed the participation of Ms. Randa Abou El-Hosn, UNDP Resident Representative in Egypt, Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women (NCW), representatives from UNDP in Egypt and the headquarters in New York.

During the meeting, El Said confirmed that the aim of issuing the report is to shed light on the successes of the Egyptian state since June 2013 and on the fruits of its economic reform that it has pursued since 2016, which helped strongly in facing the current coronavirus crisis.

El Said also listened to the research team’s presentation of the various chapters of the report, which deals with the reality of development in Egypt through a reading in the national indicators or those issued by international institutions, in addition to a review of economic reform in Egypt, social protection, the new renaissance of Egyptian women, the management of environmental protection systems in Egypt, effective governance and administration of state and society affairs.

The Minister of Planning addressed the five chapters of the report, explaining the necessity of indicating the state’s adoption of budget and performance programs, the role of Egypt's Sovereign Wealth Fund, the state’s efforts in organizing external borrowing and reducing external debt, and the role of the private sector in advancing development in Egypt.

In addition to highlighting the social protection initiatives launched by the Egyptian state, such as the "Decent Life" initiative and the efforts of the state in promoting small, medium and micro projects, for its important role in creating decent and productive work opportunities, noting that it is one of the main concepts and goals of Egypt 2030 vision.

El Said also affirmed that women in the agenda of sustainable development: Egypt's vision 2030 enjoy large share of interest in order to enable it on all levels, pointing to taking into account gender considerations in all strategic pillars.

El Said pointed out that the volume of government investments directed during the previous three years to achieve administrative reform and improve the information infrastructure it hit EGP 40 billion.

For her part, Mrs. Randa Abou El-Hosn, UNDP Resident Representative, indicated that work on the Human Development Report in Egypt for the year 2020 has started as an important publication in the series of global human development reports issued by UNDP since 1990.

The Human Development Report for Egypt for the year 2020 comes from the perspective of the Declaration of the "Right to Development" issued by the United Nations General Assembly in 1986, where this declaration was based on what was considered a right for the developing peoples to choose their development path and achieve their true independence without external dictates and based on their national values.