Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty on Sunday, September 6, 2026, said that the seventh meeting of Technical Cooperation Agencies of the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB) member states offers an important opportunity to strengthen dialogue and exchange expertise among technical cooperation agencies.
Abdelatty was delivering the opening speech at the meeting, which is hosted by Cairo for the first time and runs through Tuesday, with the participation of a number of ministers, officials, representatives of technical cooperation agencies and financing and development institutions from member states.
The meeting was attended by Tunisian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians Abroad Mohamed Ali Nafti, Guinean Minister of International Cooperation and Planning Ismael Nabé, Malian Minister of Entrepreneurship, Employment and Vocational Training Oumou Sall Seck, and Mai Taher, the representing the president of the Islamic Development Bank, as well as the bank's director of the Department of Cooperation and Capacity Development.
Egyptian participants included former prime minister and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development Ibrahim Mahlab, Economic Affairs Adviser to the President Hala el Said, Chairman of the African Affairs Committee at the House of Representatives Sherif el Gabaly, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Vice Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development Ghada Wali; and Assistant Foreign Minister and Secretary-General of the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development Ambassador Nermeen el Zawahry.
Abdelatty expressed appreciation for the IsDB's confidence in Cairo to host the forum for the first time, saying the meeting represents an important opportunity to deepen dialogue and exchange expertise among technical cooperation agencies in member states and explore ways to enhance cooperation among them.
He said the partnership between Egypt and the Islamic Development Bank represents an established model of development partnership based on trust and complementary roles. The role of development partners, Abdelatty stressed, is no longer limited to providing financing but extends to transferring expertise and knowledge, building capacities, encouraging investment, supporting countries' resilience in the face of crises and turning challenges into development opportunities.
Egypt's hosting of the meeting reflects a shared belief in the importance of moving from individual responses to crises toward partnerships capable of delivering sustainable solutions, he said. It also reflects the need to make greater use of the expertise and resources available among countries of the Global South, strengthening their collective ability to confront growing development challenges, Abdelatty added.
He outlined Egypt's vision for integrating development efforts through a just and more balanced international economic system, development cooperation focused on building national capacities, and technical cooperation that transforms resources and expertise into strong national institutions and applicable knowledge.
Abdelatty highlighted the notable growth in Egyptian technical cooperation in recent years in terms of the scale of partnerships and diversity of fields, reaffirming state's commitment to expanding cooperation with brotherly and friendly countries, enhancing the exchange of expertise and capacity building, supporting sustainable development goals and strengthening South-South cooperation.
He stressed the importance of broadening the base of partners involved in development cooperation efforts, including by leveraging the private sector's expertise, technology, innovation capabilities and financing, which would help increase resources available for development and maximize the impact of technical cooperation.