Minister of Local Development and Environment Manal Awad met with Turkish Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum on the sidelines of the D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Environment, held in Turkey on July 16–17 as part of preparations for the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31). The meeting was attended by Assistant Minister for Sustainability and Community Participation Saber Othman.
The two ministers discussed mechanisms to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the environmental sector and revive the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries, in line with the joint declaration issued by the leaders of Egypt and Turkey in 2024 to enhance cooperation across various fields, including environmental action.
Awad said the proposed areas of cooperation include waste management and benefiting from Turkey’s experience in addressing waste-related challenges, as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation through the implementation of green projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions, facilitating technology transfer, securing climate finance and promoting sustainable, climate-resilient urban development.
She added that cooperation would also cover nature conservation, biodiversity protection, protected areas, environmental education and awareness, monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems, early warning systems for extreme climate events, combating coastal and marine pollution, developing environmentally friendly technologies and environmental monitoring.
The minister also highlighted opportunities for cooperation through Egypt’s Climate and Environment Investment Unit (CLEIU), which operates under the Ministry of Local Development and Environment. She noted that the unit offers a range of promising investment opportunities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and green growth across key sectors, including waste management, innovative waste collection, recycling and disposal solutions, circular economy initiatives, renewable energy projects, the bioeconomy, ecotourism, sustainable agriculture and food security.
Awad and her Turkish counterpart also discussed the possibility of benefiting from Egypt’s successful experience in organizing and presiding over COP27, as Turkey prepares to host COP31 next November.
She expressed hope that Turkey would deliver a successful climate conference that meets people’s aspirations for tangible action to address climate change, strengthen adaptation and mitigation efforts, and support sustainable livelihoods. She also voiced confidence that COP31 would build on the achievements of recent climate conferences held in the Middle East, beginning with COP27 in Egypt and COP28 in the United Arab Emirates.
For his part, Kurum expressed his aspiration to deepen environmental cooperation with Egypt and announced plans to visit the country to study Egypt’s experience in hosting COP27 and benefit from it in organizing COP31.
