CAIRO, Sept 21, 2018 (MENA) - The New Partnership for Africa's Development organization (NEPAD) honored Friday Environment Minister Yasmeen Fouad on the sidelines of the Seventh Special Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN), held in Nairobi. This came in recognition of Egypt's efforts in the environmental field in Africa during the country's presidency of the conference from 2015 to 2017. During her tenure as assitant environment minister, Fouad had played a major role in launching a partnership for the conservation of the African environment with NEPAD on the sidelines of 2016 United Nations Climate Change Conference, held in Marrakesh, Morocco. During the event, the minister spotlighted key environmental challenges in Africa, set to be listed on the agenda of the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD-COP14) scheduled for 17 to 29 November in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh. The AMCEN Special Session was held under the theme of "Turning environmental policies into actions through innovative solutions." AMCEN was established in December 1985, following a conference of African ministers of environment held in Cairo, Egypt. Its mandate is to provide advocacy for environmental protection in Africa; to ensure that basic human needs are met adequately and in a sustainable manner; to ensure that social and economic development is realised at all levels; and to ensure that agricultural activities and practices meet the food security needs of the region.
