Statement
by
H.E Ambassador Khaled El Bakly
Ambassador of Egypt to India & Bhutan
H.E Mr. Rinzin Dorje, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan
H.E Mr. Haoliang Xu. United Nations Assistant Secretary General & UNDP Assistant Administrator
Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that Egypt is invited to participate , for the first time, to this round table meeting between the Kingdom of Bhutan and its development Partners. Egypt’s participation comes after the two countries have established diplomatic relations in November 2012.
Over the last one day and a half we have followed with interest the presentation of the 5 year development plan by the top officials from The Royal Government of Bhutan. They have explained the challenges they face in the implementation, seeking International support and solidarity.
Excellencies,
It is a welcome note that among this august gathering we see a mix between representatives of the donor community, representatives of developing countries, as well as united nations specialized agencies/development funds and programs. It is a welcome note because International Cooperation is not limited to ODA, but also includes technical assistance, best practices & lessons learned by other developing countries through South- South Cooperation.
Amongst the challenges cited yesterday by the government representatives , is the issues of “Malnutrition”, and we are ready to share with you a success story implemented in Egypt, where the collective efforts of the Political Leadership, together with the government with the support of IFAD and a number of Donor countries came together for what is known as “The School Feeding Program” it guaranteed targeted and balanced dietry program for school children between 4-6 years old where the brain is in need for nutrition to grow contributing to a healthy society.
Excellencies,
Last September, during the high level segment of the UNGA, H.E The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt announced the establishment of the Egyptian Agency for International Cooperation which will become the umbrella under which all our technical assistance programs will fall.
Your Excellency, Minister Dorje,
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that H.E The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt has approved for Bhutan to become one of our partners benefitting from the Technical Assistance Programs offered by the Agency.
It will be our earnest endeavour to provide the support requirements from us, focussed on capacity building programs and in the areas you have identified over the meeting, be it Agriculture, Irrigation, Medical care, Water resource management. Our programs are covered 100% by the government of Egypt.
Lastly, I am happy to have come to know from H.E The Prime Minister of Bhutan that very soon we will receive your positive reply to start collaboration between the “Bibliotecha Alexandrina” and the National library of Bhutan.
I wish you all success, and thank you once again for the invitation, and kind hospitality.
I Thank you.
Thimphu 12 December, 2013