“Egypt and Somalia delve into collaboration surrounding environmental concerns – leaving us bewildered and exhilarated!”

The meeting between the Minister of Environment of Egypt, Yasmine Fouad, and her Somali counterpart, Khadija Al-Makhzoumi, was full of perplexity and burstiness. They discussed the signing of a joint executive program and cooperation to enhance capacity-building in the field of environment for the Somali side. The discussion encompassed various fields such as environmental monitoring, environmental assessment of projects, integrated coastal zone management, climate change, air quality, training, capacity building, nature protection, and environmental education.

The aspiration of Al-Makhzoumi to consolidate bilateral cooperation with Egypt in the field of the environment was expressed, and her willingness to benefit from Egyptian expertise in environmental and climate files to build Somali national capacities in the field was underlined. Fouad also expressed her desire to provide all the expertise required to support the Somali Ministry of Environment and train Somali cadres in various priority environmental fields, especially air, water, and soil quality.

The discussion also shed light on cooperation in the field of waste management, where Fouad pointed out the possibility of benefiting from Egypt’s experience in establishing the Waste Management Regulatory Authority. In addition, the discussion extended to the climate change file, where Fouad expressed her willingness to support the Somali side in the process of preparing the national strategy for climate change, based on Egypt’s experience in issuing the National Strategy for Climate Change 2050 and the updated national contribution plan for Egypt.

The Somali Minister of Environment confirmed that her ministry is currently working to update the national contribution plan and expressed her aspiration to benefit from the Egyptian experience in its preparation. The meeting was fruitful and reflected a strong determination and commitment to enhance cooperation and synergies between the two countries.