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Major General Hisham Amna, Minister of Local Development, received today Dr. Rania Hidaya, Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program in Cairo, and Amr Lachin, Director of the Program for Policy, Governance and Urban Law in the program, in the presence of Major General Hamza Darwish, Permanent Undersecretary of the Ministry of Local Development, Dr. Hisham Al-Halbawi, Assistant Minister of Local Development for National Projects and Ambassador Mohamed Hejazi, Adviser to the Minister for International Cooperation, to follow up the files of joint cooperation between the two sides.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Minister of Local Development commended the level of cooperation between the Ministry and the United Nations agencies and offices working in Egypt, headed by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. Major General Hisham Amna also praised the efforts of the programme and the constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Local Development and the Egyptian governorates to implement the urban development agenda in Egypt and to coordinate many important local and international development programmes and events in support of Egypt's efforts on the issue of sustainable urban development.

 The meeting witnessed a review of a number of files of cooperation between the Ministry and the program, chiefly some of the coordination and organizational steps regarding Egypt's hosting of the World Urban Forum in its twelfth session in 2424, where the Minister of Local Development stressed that the World Urban Forum is the first global platform on the international agenda that focuses on addressing all aspects, sectors and areas of sustainable urban development
Major General Hisham Amna also referred to the Ministry's commitment to fully cooperate with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and to coordinate with Dr. Assem Al-Jazzar, Minister of Housing, in preparing well for the next session of the Forum so that Egypt could once again produce a civilizational scene before the countries of the world, after the great success it had achieved in hosting the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Summit to add to Egypt's urban and cultural heritage locally, regionally and internationally.
He pointed out that we will all work together as a single working group, such as the Government and the United Nations Programme for the coming period, to ensure the success of the next Urban Forum.
For her part, Dr. Rania Hedaya referred to Egypt's pioneering experience in the field of urban and urban development unique, pointing to the weight of Egypt and its strong relationship with the United Nations and its capabilities and presence at the regional and international levels, which enabled it to be chosen as the host of the World Urban Forum in its next session.
Hedaya also expressed the appreciation of the United Nations Human Settlements Program for the close cooperation relations with Egypt and its keenness to continue and increase cooperation during the coming period, noting the United Nations' aspiration for continuous coordination with the Egyptian state to host the next forum, which requires continued preparation and coordination well and continuously between the two sides, and we will put all technical expertise to support and enhance Egypt's hosting of the next session.
She stressed the confidence of the United Nations in Egypt's ability to organize and host the World Urban Forum because of its great logistical and organizational capabilities.
Major General Hisham Amna stressed that Egypt's victory in hosting the forum is an expression of the appreciation of the international community for the great achievements and successes of the Egyptian state under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi in terms of infrastructure and major urban development and the process of urban development that is carried out in accordance with international standards.
It was agreed to intensify communication between the Ministry and representatives of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme in coordination with the Ministry of Housing, in order to develop a detailed action plan regarding the hosting of the World Urban Forum.
During the meeting, a number of areas of cooperation between the Ministry and the program were reviewed, including preparations for the launch of a conference under the auspices of the Minister of Local Development to launch the smart tool for solid waste, which was applied in Alexandria Governorate and will be circulated in 9 new Egyptian cities in a number of governorates after achieving a number of good results, which included communicating accurate data on the waste generated in Alexandria, which helped identify gaps and needs in the solid waste management system, and determine the possible rates of value recovery. From waste by recycling and reuse and determining the environmental, societal and economic return from improving the system.
The Minister of Local Development stressed the ministry's support for this tool and work to circulate it in 10 other Egyptian cities in order to achieve the maximum benefit for the development of the municipal solid waste management system in the governorates.
They also reviewed the latest developments of the urban planning and infrastructure project in the most needy areas and communities in Damietta Governorate, which is implemented in partnership between the Ministry of Local Development, the United Nations Human Settlements Program and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, which contributes to improving access to socio-economic services and job opportunities.
The Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Program in Cairo praised the efforts of the Egyptian state in hosting refugees during the past years and their access to services provided to Egyptian citizens in the fields of health, education and others.