UN official says Egypt makes progress in achieving sustainable development

A UN official has said Egypt has made progress in achieving a sustainable development, the country's official news agency MENA reported Saturday.

Death rates among mothers and children are going down and clean drinking water is secured, James Rawley, the UN Resident Representative and director of the UN Development Program (UNDP) in Egypt, was quoted as saying.

Egypt is also on the right track towards reducing poverty and upgrading education, Rawley added.

The UN official saw women empowerment in Egypt as another spotlight, noting women account for 50 percent of the Egyptian population.

However, the UN official also pointed out that available information on the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) was not enough, calling on the Egyptian government to work out necessary plans to face the disease.

Rawley said one of the biggest challenges confronting Egypt is developing its ability to offer high-quality services to the citizens, underlining the need for the private sector and the nongovernmental organizations to play a more effective role in the country's development process.

In addition, he disclosed that the UNDP has signed a 350 million U.S. dollars agreement with Egypt, which is aimed at assisting Egypt in its efforts to improve the environment, enhance women status in the community and fight poverty, child labor and unemployment.

Praising Egypt for the astonishing progress it achieved in the information technology field, Rawley promised that UNDP would continue providing support for the sector as well as for Egypt's small and medium-size industries which according to him constitute the backbone of the Egyptian economy.

Source: Xinhua