Cairo – Mubasher: The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation, Rania El-Mashat, took part in the Linkedin live webinar series on women empowerment for the leadership in 2020 session with more than 5,600 viewers from Europe and the MENA region.
El-Mashat, the youngest Egyptian minister to hold office, shared her story to inspire other global professional leaders and the Linkedin community.
The minister focused on her positive personal narrative (the 4Cs: Competence, Confidence, Connections and Charm), and International Cooperation Global Partnerships Narrative (P&P&P: People & Projects & Purpose), as well as her own perspective on leadership and what the future holds for the current economic situation.
The session began by looking at El-Mashat’s journey through all different angles, from her personal development as a leader in her upbringing, to her own professional career in central banking and designing monetary policy and the journey to holding several positions in public office.
Multilateralism for a Great Reset
The second part of the session tackled the ways El-Mashat aims to push forward “Economic Diplomacy” through International Cooperation. “No country can stay isolated by itself. This is even more evident today, as we see the interconnectedness of all societies regardless of geography. Multilateralism is key in building towards a better and more resilient recovery” she said.
The Ministry of International Cooperation launched its multi-stakeholder platforms in April, which aims to boost collective action between multilateral and bilateral development partners and line ministers to not only mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but to also build for an agile, yet outcome-oriented future. Since the launch of the platform, the Ministry organised a number of participatory workshops in various sectors that include health, women economic empowerment, public enterprises, private sector engagement in development, rural and agricultural development, transportation, and social safety nets.
The platforms illustrate how collective efforts to drive public-private action and collaboration on the circular economy can reinforce existing multilateral efforts.
El- Mashat then turned to communication, the cornerstone of diplomacy, which has been radically changed by electronic and social media, by smartphones, by the internet, conveying the many opportunities policy makers have today to inform and connect with the general public and mobilise communities to advocate and be part of Egypt’s development work.
The ministry recently launched ‘The Global Partnership Narrative’, which aims to prioritise and strengthen cooperation among development partners for the achievement of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focusing on three pillars: ‘People at the Core’, ‘Projects in Action’ and ‘Purpose as the Driver’. The narrative utilises different channels to communicate with the general public, the international community as well as multilateral and bilateral development partners.
“Egypt entered this crisis with very strong fiscal and foreign reserve buffers because of the reforms that were implemented between 2016 and 2018. Countries aren’t just judged by their GDP, but also through their own developmental story. Multilateralism helps create a platform where each country can participate and have a voice in development,” she noted.
Moreover, the ministry has conducted an “Official Development Assistance - Sustainable Development Goals Mapping’ framework, a comprehensive mapping exercise of all current effective projects that aligns them with the relevant SDGs to ensure effective development cooperation.
Lessons for the Future
For future inspiring leaders, El-Mashat stressed on the importance of expanding one’s interests and not being confined to any particular profession or place, but to try to increase it and diversify it to gain more skills and expertise.
“There will be tough times; and the advice I give is three things: to set your intention, be very authentic in what you do, and here comes the idea of passion, and thirdly be present in every moment,” she added.
In 2013, El-Mashat received the distinguished alumni award from the American University in Cairo (AUC), and in 2014, the World Economic Forum named her a "Young Global Leader”. She was named one of the 50 most influential women in the Egyptian economy in 2015.
