Ashraf AboArafe
Participating in the Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Association seminar entitled “Egypt and BRICS.. Reading the Future of Cooperation”, Dr. Elena Matveeva spoke:
* President of the National Association of Successful Women “Mercury New Time”
* Chairperson of the Committee on the Status of Women at the United Nations
* Aid Association of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations
* Chairperson of the Trade and Economic Commission of Russia and Egypt
* Member of the Expert Council of the Russian Nature Conservation Association
* Member of the Expert Council on Food Tourism
a speech was as follows:
On behalf of the United Nations Association in Russia (UNRA), I would like to thank the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Asian Research and Translation Center, and the Egyptian-Chinese Friendship Association for giving me the opportunity to participate in the seminar.
BRICS is a strong alliance of emerging economies that actively influence global economic processes. Our common goal is to create a more just and sustainable world. We can only achieve this by working together on the basis of trust and mutual understanding.
Work within the BRICS+ member states to exchange experience and build partnerships, as well as institutionalize this work, perhaps by embodying it in a structural form, is necessary, given the serious lag behind the global plan of the 2030 Agenda. The development dynamics of the BRICS+ countries and the new initiatives emerging in our countries are urgently needed to realize the concept of sustainable development.
UNPAC is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1956 and since 1999 has had general or general consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council.
Today I will introduce you to one of the flagship programs of the UN Regional Activity Center “Russian Regions and the UN Sustainable Development Goals”, which has been implemented since 2009 with the support of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN Information Center in Moscow and the Moscow State Research Institute. Until 2015, the program was called “Russian Regions and the Millennium Development Goals”. The project includes presentations on regions and the Millennium Development Goals.
Groups, as well as leading business structures of Russia and companies in key international venues, including the UN Headquarters. As part of this program, Russian regions conduct local voluntary reviews of the implementation and progress of the SDGs on UN platforms, as well as during personal meetings of heads of regions with the UN Secretary-General. In different years, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, Antonio Guterres, Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko, Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov, Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzia sent their greetings to the program reports – the reports are available on the UNPAC website
https://una.ru/region_evolution.
At the moment, 16 entities of Russia, including Moscow, Samara Region, Republic of Tatarstan and Sverdlovsk Region, participate in the program “Russian Regions and the UN Sustainable Development Goals”. The process of preparation and participation in the program allows us to take a deeper look at the current state of a region or city for each of the SDGs and find additional ways to improve them. An example of a sustainable project of one of the regions of our program participants: Samara State Medical University (SamSMU). It is a leader in the development of the “IT in healthcare” sector, occupies leading positions in educational, research, innovation and medical activities.
The university is actively developing, commercializing and applying IT in healthcare and social sphere using artificial intelligence, big data and augmented/virtual reality technologies. A high share of R&D and unique scientific achievements make Samara Medical University one of the most innovative medical universities in Russia.
The success of the university is facilitated by the developed innovative infrastructure, including the Engineering Technopark, the Leading Research Center and the Leading Research Center for Augmented Intelligence and Virtual Reality Technologies. The university also has its own clinical base, experience in product marketing and effective cooperation with high-tech companies and research centers. SamSMU provides 80% of the region’s demand for medical and pharmaceutical personnel and actively participates in the implementation of projects of the National Technological Initiative.
SamSMU develops innovative clusters of medical and pharmaceutical technologies in the Samara region, actively cooperates with federal and regional authorities and participates in world-class projects within the framework of the Research Center “Engineering of the Future”. The university has achieved high dynamics in digital transformation, improving the quality of specialized training and medical care, as well as developing human resources to solve major scientific and technological challenges.
We invite our Egyptian colleagues to share their experience in the process of preparing voluntary local reviews. Working on sustainable development issues in the BRICS group is an important element that requires multilateral cooperation. With more than 1.5 billion people from these countries living in urban agglomerations, special attention should be paid to the implementation of SDG 11.
In addition, I would like to emphasize the importance of cultural cooperation. The BRICS countries and Egypt have a rich cultural heritage and diversity that can serve as a basis for mutual understanding and strengthening friendship between our peoples.
We propose to develop joint cultural projects that will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and traditions, deepen the ties between our societies and create a solid foundation for further cooperation. In addition, energy cooperation is a key factor for sustainable development. We see great prospects in jointly developing and modernizing renewable energy sources.
These steps will not only enhance our energy security, but will also contribute to significantly in the fight against climate change. We call for increased dialogue and technology exchange in this important area.
Thank you for your interest
