Committee: ECOSOC

Delegate : Samantha de Silva

Delegation: Egypt
School: AIS

1.Maintaining sustainable economic development in LEDCs and HIPCs, with emphasis on ODA
and Debt Relief.

2. Disaster risk reduction, disaster relief management and prevention of forced eviction, in view
of and following Natural Disasters; with emphasis on individuals in disputed territories.

1)
Does my county support question 1?

Yes, in itself and other LEDCs and HIPCs

What is my country doing to support or to condemn question 1?

‘Egypt is prepared to assist Sudan in negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
over its outstanding debt’ says finance minister Yusuf Ghali- August, 2010. Egypt also donated
over 250 tons of food to the pre-decision HIPCs of Sudan and Somalia as well as urging Sudan
that investment in infrastructure, education and agriculture is essential for development.

What does my country plan to do to further support or condemn the question 1?

Once the political situation has stabilised Egypt will continue to develop its self. Even though
Egypt is an LEDC its one of Africa’s more developed nations and ‘should participate with the
industrialized countries in promoting science and technology on the continent and help to train
young researchers in critical fields’. As the country develops and a larger percentage of the
population is educated it will break the cycle of poverty and move from mainly primary sector
to tertiary and quaternary sectors which has the advantages of a higher GDP. Also to reduce
corruption within the government there should be a weekly update of flow of funds and a third
party, such as an NGO, should observe this so to make sure there is no unnecessary spending.
Free trade or reduced tariffs in the least, could be promoted with neighbouring counties such as
Sudan and Israel. If loans are a necessity then the IDA provides soft loans which prevents high
interest rates causing even more debt. Self sufficiently should be promoted as local products
are more cost efficient than imports and the government should be strict on controlling
unnecessary welfare programs. Efforts will be made to develop indicators showing debt and
related risks to prevent accumulation and thus keep debt at a manageable level.
2)
Does my country support question 2?

Yes

What is my country doing to support or condemn question 2?

June 1st 2010, the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip was opened to allow humanitarian
and medical aid to enter the area. Risk was reduced by lessening the vulnerability and
increasing the capacity of the population to cope.

Egypt is well developed in its risk assessment- hazard maps that show the distribution of
hazards such as floods and tectonic plates, making prediction easier. To deal with floods MWRI
established a annual plan to deal with floods and monitors water levels regularly and the
system is efficient, for example during the flash floods of 11 th October the relief was carried out
by the Egyptian RCS (an auxiliary to the government in the humanitarian field) which was
supported by the DREF. Over a thousand threatened homes were destroyed and over 2000
families were re-housed in safer areas. However many of these slum dwellers had to be forcibly
evicted as they retaliated the move due to fact they were already conveniently segregated but
the government believed that the move was in their best interest and they were compensated
accordingly. In case of a disaster alternate plans for water management and there was training
at LDC with workshops that prepare people for natural disasters, more information at
http://www.preventionweb.net/files/840_Egypt-report.pdf. A committee was formed National
Committee for Crises/Disasters Management and Disaster Risk Reduction (NCCDMDR) with the
following objectives are to propose and develop national policies, create frameworks for crises
and disasters management and disaster risk reduction, strengthen the technical and scientific
capacity to develop national programme for providing easily understandable information on
disaster risks and protection options, to all citizens.

What does my country plan on doing to further support or condemn question 2?

To reduce the vulnerability of the population, Egypt’s poorest must be continued to be moved
out of the high risk areas. If due to high population density (as most parts of the country are
uninhabitable) infrastructure will be strengthened and new prediction technology will be
introduced in these areas. ‘26 areas in greater Cairo have been identified as unsafe by the
government as part of their plan to redevelop the city by 2050’- BBC

Also the NCCDMDR is going to be developed more, especially on prediction methods and
communication as this could buy valuable time in saving lives. The Nile Centres for information
will raise awareness via leaflets, billboards, videos etc. Funding is going to go into developing
the infra structure for example buildings will be stronger, shatter proof glass, roads wider to
allow emergency services through and developing encouraging water saving solutions to
prevent drought (eg water recycling, desalination of salt water, cloud seeding). Preparations
before disasters will improve (such as basic commodities like food, water and sanitary facilities).
If the public will be better educated which will make a drastic change and Egypt will be
attending the EU-funded Programme on Prevention, Preparedness and Response to Natural and
Man-made Disasters second workshop and simulation exercise on 31 January to 4 February
2011.