The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Over recent weeks, we’ve published articles about Egypt’s association with several international organisations, such as the Guinness World Records, Bombardier Transportation, Austria’s Express Travel International (ETI), Beautiful Destinations, UNDP, and so many others. Today, we bring you Egypt’s newest involvement with the most famous intergovernmental organisation in the world, dedicated to achieving international cooperation and peace: The United Nations.

Last weekend, Ahram Online shared a statement, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that Egypt had been elected to the Executive Board of UN-Habitat for four years, until 2023. For those who are not familiar with it, the UN-Habitat, or the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, is the UN agency responsible for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It works in more than 70 countries, focusing on seven areas: Urban legislation, land and governance; urban planning and design; urban economy; urban basic services; housing and slum upgrading; risk reduction and rehabilitation; urban research and capacity development.

Every four years, the UN-Habitat Assembly is held at its headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. During the 4-day assembly last week, Egypt was proudly selected for a 4-year term on the organisation’s executive board, acknowledging our nation’s countless efforts over the years in urban development and other fields. To quote an excerpt from the statement, this was in “recognition of the Egyptian government’s efforts to implement urban planning and development projects to build new cities, eliminate slums, and rehabilitate areas unsuitable for habitation.” Many topics were discussed this year, including a $152 million commitment by thirty-eight governments including Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria, Gambia, Morocco, Senegal, and Malawi, towards initiatives aimed at reducing spatial inequality, promoting shared prosperity in cities, strengthening climate action, and urban crisis prevention, according to Capital News.

The Executive Board is made up of 36 elected members and meets three times a year to boost the oversight of UN-Habitat operations. It is also worth mentioning that Egypt was not the only African nominee. Neighbouring countries, comprising of Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Morocco, Malawi, and Angola were also elected. On the other sides of the globe, USA, China, Japan, Canada, France, India, Sri Lanka, Republic of Korea, Iran, Indonesia, Pakistan, Poland, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Romania, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Uruguay, Sweden, Turkey, Germany, Spain, and Portugal joined the board.