The final declaration issued by the 4th United Nations International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), held in the Spanish city of Seville, recognized Egypt’s platform of the Nexus of Water, Food and Energy “NWFE” program as a model for the new generation of national platforms and innovative tools for promoting climate action efforts.
Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, explained that at a time when countries are racing to establish national platforms to coordinate development efforts and climate investment, and as successive international forums and events emphasize the importance of national platforms and strategies as a tool to attract investment and capital flows , the country platform of the “NWFE” program, launched by Egypt in 2022, stands out as a pioneering model that anticipated global calls to launch a platform focused on integrating development and climate action efforts, and contributes to mobilizing climate investments in priority areas.
The Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation pointed out that Egypt has followed an innovative approach and governance methodology in designing and implementing the objectives of the country platform of the “NWFE” program since its launch during the COP27 Climate Conference, coordinating with various national entities, and leveraging the comparative advantages of development partners across the platform’s three pillars, water, food, and energy, enabling the country to maximize the benefits of public investment, mobilize concessional development financing, debt swap mechanisms, grants, and private investments to implement targeted projects, so the platform has succeeded in mobilizing $4 billion in concessional financing over two and a half years to implement renewable energy projects with a capacity of 4.2 gigawatts, supporting Egypt’s efforts in renewable energy and green transition.
She added that the projects currently being implemented have become an example of constructive partnerships between various relevant stakeholders, represented by coalitions of local and foreign companies, multilateral development banks, international institutions, and innovative financial mechanisms from bilateral partners such as debt swaps, for effective implementation and achieving desired outcomes, explaining that the ministry adopts a transparent approach in implementing the platform, and recently launched the second follow-up report on the platform’s performance and its role in enhancing mitigation and adaptation efforts in response to climate change.
