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EVENT
CLIMATE-SMART CONNECTIVITY INFRASTRUCTURE: FINANCING INNOVATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES
CLIMATE-SMART CONNECTIVITY INFRASTRUCTURE: FINANCING INNOVATIONS AND BEST PRACTICES
20

November 2023

TIME:15:00 – 17:00 (GMT+8)

LOCATION:Beijing, China

WATCH RECORDINGS

MCDF Event on Climate-Smart Connectivity Infrastructure: Financing Innovations and Best Practices

Key Messages from MCDF Climate-Smart Connectivity Infrastructure Report

EVENT DESCRIPTION

Co-organized by the Chinese Ministry of Finance, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF), and World Resources Institute (WRI), this event highlighted the importance of connectivity infrastructure for climate mitigation and adaptation. It discussed innovations and lessons learned from financiers and developing countries on mobilizing connectivity infrastructure finance for climate action at scale. It also launched the report Climate-Smart Connectivity Infrastructure: Best Practices and Case Studies.

The report is a summary of key messages from case studies and thematic analyses presented during the MCDF Workshop Series on Climate-Smart Connectivity Infrastructure.

AUDIENCE

Participants included senior government officials and representatives from multilateral development banks, international organizations, and invited media.

AGENDA
SPEAKERS
H.E. MR. AHMED KOUCHOUK
H.E. MR. AHMED KOUCHOUK
Vice Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies & Institutional Reform
<p>Ahmed Kouchouk was appointed Vice Minister of Finance for Fiscal Policies and institutional Reform in March 2016. Since then, he has been playing a leading role in designing and implementing Egypt’s macroeconomic and fiscal policies and reforms. Mr. Kouchouk has been the chief negotiator and Government focal point with the IMF since 2016.</p> <p>Ahmed Kouchouk currently supervises and oversees the work of various policy-related units and departments at the Ministry of Finance including the Macro Fiscal Unit, the Debt Management Unit, the Public Private Partnership Unit, the Transparency, and Citizen Engagement Unit, the Public Financial Management Unit, and the Institutional reform unit. He also supervises various work streams at the Ministry of Finance including engagement with international institutions, Rating agencies, Investment Banks, and investors. He also oversees the process of setting and updating the Macro Fiscal Framework including setting fiscal &amp; debt targets over the medium‐term, preparing the annual budget, monitoring budget implementation, managing fiscal risks, and overseeing debt strategy and related policies.</p> <p>Ahmed Kouchouk serves as Egypt's non-resident executive director at the Asian International Infrastructure Bank Board (AIIB) for the past 7-years. Also, he leads Egypt’s inter‐ministerial task force managing the annual economic dialogue with the EU. Ahmed Kouchouk is currently a board member at the Monetary-Fiscal Coordination Council, the Arab African Investment Bank, Talaat Mostafa Holding, Egypt National Training Academy, National Defense Council, Heliopolis for Housing Development Company, Electricity Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Body, Misr Phosphate Company, the Egyptian Central Depository and Registry Company, and Urban Development Economic Authority.</p> <p>Ahmed Kouchouk has been the Ministry of Finance focal coordinator with monetary authorities since 2016. He served as a Board Member at the Central Bank of Egypt from April 2016 to June 2018. He also served as a board member at Egypt Air Holding Company from 2018-2020 and at Misr Fertilizers Production Company (MOPCO) from 2021- April 2022. Mr. Kouchouk served as a board member in several other institutions over the past years.</p> <p>Ahmed Kouchouk is a professional economist and policy advisor with almost 25 years of applied experience. He worked as a senior economist for the World Bank from June 2013 to March 2016. Furthermore, he worked for the Ministry of Finance in several leading roles for more than 14 years including as Vice Minister, Economic Advisor, and Director of the Macro Fiscal Unit. He also worked for Egypt's Ministries of External Trade and Economy.</p> <p>Ahmed Kouchouk earned his master’s degree in public policy from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2010 and earned a master’s degree in economics from York University in the United Kingdom in 2002. He had a B.S., in Economics in 1999 from the American University in Cairo.</p> <p>Mr. Kouchouk is married to Amal El‐Sayed (Banker and executive coach). They have two kids Salma (17 years) and Omar (15 years).</p>
MR. EDE IJJASZ
MR. EDE IJJASZ
Senior Advisor to the CEO, MCDF
<p>Ede Ijjasz provides strategic advice on sustainability and ESG standards, environmental and social safeguards, and climate change. Mr. Ijjasz is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and he advices several institutions such as ADB, the Global Center on Adaptation, The Growth Dialogue, UNDP, WMO, the World Bank and the World Resources Institute, among others.</p> <p>He was a senior leader on sustainable development and infrastructure at the World Bank. During his career of more than 23 years at the World Bank, he managed a team of 700 staff and more than 1000 consultants working in more than 90 developing and emerging countries in all regions of the world – from fragile and conflict-affected countries to high-middle-income countries. He was responsible for a portfolio of about $80 billion of investments and close to 800 policy and advisory reports. Mr. Ijjasz was Regional Director for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure for Africa and Latin America, Global Senior Director for the Social, Urban, Rural, and Resilience Technical Practice, and Manager of the China Sustainable Development and Infrastructure Program.</p> <p>He recently completed co-editing the book “State and Trends in Adaptation in Africa,” and is working on two other books: “Disruptive Technologies for Sustainable Development” and “Knowledge Management and Organizational Change” to be published by Routledge in 2022. Mr. Ijjasz has been featured in several global media outlets such as CNN, Wall St. Journal, Time, The Economist, LA Times, and CNBC. He has been a lecturer at Tsinghua University and Johns Hopkins University on Sustainable Development courses.</p>
DR. LI FANG
DR. LI FANG
Country Director of WRI China
<p>Dr. Li Fang is Country Director of WRI China, in charge of the overall strategy and management of WRI’s work in China. With a rich combination of vision, academic rigor, deep knowledge of the environment and development, broad management experience, and an extensive network of professional contacts, she works closely with colleagues and partners to advance sustainable development both locally and globally.</p> <p>Prior joining WRI, Dr. Fang was the Deputy Director General of Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment, where she led diverse multidisciplinary teams working on a wide range of environmental issues, overseeing more than 100 staff. She also served as the Assistant Secretary General of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED), a unique high-level think tank that brings together top Chinese and foreign experts and provides research and policy recommendations to the Chinese government. There she was responsible for developing strategy and research frameworks, mobilizing resources, and coordinating the joint activities of participating countries, international organizations, NGOs and governmental agencies.</p> <p>Her other previous positions included serving as Division Director in the International Cooperation Department of the Environment Ministry of China and working in Ecuador as for a Chinese-foreign mining joint venture.</p> <p>Dr. Fang earned a Ph.D. in environmental economics from China’s renowned Renmin University with a focus on finance, valuation of nature, and emissions trading. She holds two BA degrees from Tianjin University in chemical engineering and business management.</p>
ORGANIZING PARTNERS
CONTACT

If you would like to learn more about this event, please contact Victoria Goettlicher (victoria.goettlicher@themcdf.org)