CAIRO - 20 June 2026: Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly met with Rania Al-Mashat, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), during her first official visit to Egypt following the assumption of her new post. They discussed prospects for cooperation between the Egyptian Government and ESCWA, and strengthening the partnership in areas of developmental and regional priority.
The Prime Minister welcomed Rania Al-Mashat, voicing his sincere compliments on her appointment to her new position and wishing her success in her duties, which will contribute to strengthening the role of ESCWA in supporting development efforts and economic integration in the Arab region.
The Prime Minister affirmed that the Egyptian State believes that the future of development in the region will not be achieved through individual national efforts alone, but rather through strengthening regional connectivity and integration in the fields of energy, transportation, trade, and investment, in a way that achieves common interests for countries and peoples.
The Prime Minister pointed out that Egypt, due to its geographic location, institutional capabilities, and the infrastructure it has developed in recent years, is working to establish its role as a regional energy and logistics hub and a gateway for economic integration between Arab and African countries. This is being achieved through electricity interconnection projects, port development, and the strengthening of cross-border transport and trade networks.
The Prime Minister added that the Egyptian experience has proven that investment in transboundary infrastructure not only yields national gains but also generates economic and developmental benefits that extend to the entire region, thus enhancing stability and shared prosperity.
For her part, Rania Al-Mashat presented the ESCWA vision aimed at maximizing cooperation and integration among its 21 member States, based on the principle of exchanging benefits and achieving regional added value. She stressed that cooperation between countries extends beyond the direct parties to create broader benefits for the entire region, which is expressed by the equation: “1+1=3”, reflecting the multipliers of economic and developmental cooperation between countries.
The ESCWA Executive Secretary emphasized the importance of highlighting and building upon existing cooperation models, particularly in the areas of electricity interconnection, gas pipelines, maritime transport, remittances and investments, and regional companies operating across Arab borders.
The meeting also showcased several pioneering Egyptian initiatives that bolster Egypt's position as a regional hub for energy, logistics, and economic integration. These include the Egyptian-Saudi electricity interconnection project, interconnection projects with neighbouring countries, and Egypt's pivotal role in the trade and distribution of natural gas through its advanced infrastructure, as well as its contribution to supporting and operating the Arab Gas Pipeline.
The meeting also addressed the importance of connectivity projects and logistics corridors linking Egypt with its Arab and African surroundings, and the development of ports and transport networks, which contributes to enhancing intra-regional trade, raising the efficiency of regional supply chains, and consolidating the concept of economic interdependence among the countries of the region.
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