Saturday 22 Feb
During his participation in the Preparatory Committee meetings for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in New York, Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk emphasized the need for increased international efforts to support accessible development financing and create greater financial space for developing countries. He highlighted Egypt's focus on new initiatives to swap debt for investments in sustainable development and green transition.
He stressed the importance of increasing private sector involvement and contributions to development financing through the creation of an attractive investment environment. He urged multilateral development banks to provide more financial facilities to member states and the private sector.
Kouchouk underscored how debt burdens weaken the capacity of
low- and middle-income countries to respond to crises and finance development. He
called for the adoption of innovative mechanisms and tools to reduce debt
burdens and create additional financial space to drive inclusive and
sustainable growth. He stated that Egypt aims to establish a more comprehensive
and flexible global mechanism to address debt issues for low- and middle-income
countries.
The Minister stressed the need to expand and explore
financing options in local currencies to mitigate the burdens of external debt.
He noted that widening financing gaps
due to global economic pressures are hindering sustainable development.
He also emphasized the need for global cooperation to finance climate change adaptation programs. He expressed hope for a more equitable assessment of the situations and challenges facing developing countries by global rating institutions.
