Africa faces development challenges due to European conflict
Many countries are unable to achieve self-sufficiency in basic goods and balance supply chains as a result of the conflict, she added at the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in Doha, Qatar, from 5 to 9 March.
World leaders, representatives of the private sector, civil society, parliamentarians and youth are participating in the conference to bring forward new ideas, obtain new commitments of support, and stimulate the fulfillment of the commitments agreed through the Doha Programme of Action.
The conference is expected to announce initiatives that will help address the challenges of the least developed countries.
In her opening remarks, Al-Mashat expressed the appreciation of President El-Sisi to Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, crown prince of Qatar and chairperson of the fifth edition of the conference, President Lazarus Chakwera, president of the Republic of Malawi and chairperson of the Least Developed Countries Group, and António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, for convening this edition of the conference, which is one of the most important international forums and platforms that monitor the challenges faced by the least developed countries.
The conference also focuses on the international community's efforts to build international and regional partnerships to address these challenges and find solutions that promote the achievement of sustainable development in those countries.
Al-Mashat said that Egypt has been keen to launch a national food and nutrition strategy to achieve security in this regard.
She emphasised Guterres' role to place the UN and its agencies at the forefront of helping developing and least developed countries address their development challenges, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to ensure that no one is left behind, in accordance with the principles of the UN General Charter.
El-Sisi's speech shed light on the health, economic, and social damages resulting from successive global crises. Addressing the economic, social, and environmental challenges and building on regional and international partnerships are necessary to find sustainable solutions to the crises facing developing countries, Al-Mashat said on behalf of the president.