Cairo – The 4^th annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Conference and 2^nd annual Matchmaking Event were held last week (16-17/04) in Cairo, Egypt. This was an opportunity for 2,000 members of business associations, industry chambers, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, universities, research centres, governmental bodies, academia and the media to come together and discuss ways to take CSR forward in Egypt.

The conference was organized by the Federation of Egyptian industries (FEI), ALEXBANK, the International Labor Organization (ILO), Sawiris Foundation for Social Development (SFSD), the American University in Cairo (AUC) and the Professional Development Foundation (PDF).

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, participated in the matchmaking event and presented its activities to representatives from the ‘Golden Triangle:’ the private sector, civil society, and governmental institutions. This forms part of IOM’s active engagement with the private sector in Egypt to maximize the positive benefits of migration.

"IOM partners with companies and foundations worldwide to help enhance its operational and strategic performance as well as to gather data and advocate for migration issues,” said Laurent de Boeck, IOM Head of Programmes to the Arab Republic of Egypt. “In Egypt, IOM has partnered with private sector companies for the benefit of migrants and host communities: this conference is a great opportunity to further foster concrete and innovative public-private partnerships in the context of IOM activities in Egypt.”

Capitalizing on the private sector’s comparative advantage in innovation and value creation is particularly important in the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as private sector expertise can sustainably contribute to the horizontal and vertical logic of achieving the Sustainable Development Agenda. In this vein, Egypt’s Strategy for Sustainable Development, Vision 2030, highlights the promotion of public-private partnerships as a key component of Egypt’s mid- to long-term economic development.

In the context of its mandate – dignified, orderly and safe migration for the benefit of all – IOM looks to foster partnerships that are sustainable and create shared value in Egypt. Attending the 4^th annual CSR conference and 2^nd annual matchmaking event is in line with IOM’s broader outlook towards private sector engagement to realize the SDGs and safeguard the rights and dignity of migrants everywhere.

For more information, please contact Monica Ibrahim at IOM Egypt. Email: mgibrahim@iom.int; Tel: +2 02 2736 5140/1.