H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, met with Zeina Toukan, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, during the 33rd session of the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee, held in the Jordanian capital, Amman, under the chairmanship of the Prime Ministers of both countries.
The meeting witnessed discussions on strengthening the partnership between the two ministries in order to exchange expertise in the field of development planning and economic development policies, and discussed activating the executive program that was signed during the activities of the committee between the Institute of National Planning (INP) in Egypt and the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
During the meeting, H.E. Dr. Rania Al-Mashat affirmed the keenness of the Egyptian state, under the leadership of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to continue developing the joint relations between the two brotherly countries, which have close and extended economic ties that have contributed to the development of bilateral, Arab and regional cooperation, adding that the Egyptian-Jordanian relations represent a role model for Arab relations in light of the attention and permanent support from the political leadership of the two countries, especially in light of the developments and rapid changes taking place in the Arab world and the region.
Al-Mashat pointed to the pivotal role of the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee as one of the main mechanisms working to support and strengthen joint economic, trade, investment, and cultural relations between the two countries, which represents the oldest of all Arab bilateral higher committees, noting the strong contributions over 32 previous sessions in supporting bilateral relations in areas of joint work between the two countries and overcoming obstacles to mutual cooperation paths.
H.E. expressed her welcome for cooperation and the exchange of expertise in the field of development planning and sustainable development, through the activation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two countries in August 2023 in Amman, which expands to covers promising areas, most notably cooperation in planning, capacity building through the provision of training programs, workshops, and discussion panels in the fields of planning, strategic planning, governance, sustainable development, and competitiveness.
Al-Mashat also noted the possibility of exchanging expertise between the two countries in sustainable development and planning, particularly regarding their efforts to implement the recommendations of the “Public Governance Review,” launched by Egypt and Jordan in Egypt in cooperation with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) within the framework of the “Supporting Public and Economic Governance in Egypt” project, and the lessons learned in preparing Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs), and the role of the Higher Committee for Sustainable Development (HCSD) in Jordan.
The two ministers also discussed joint coordination in international forums to advance global efforts towards implementing the outcomes of the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development, recently held in Seville, as well as other international conferences, especially with regard to the global financial architecture reforms and developing the United Nations system to benefit the economies of developing and emerging countries.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation – Egypt.