The Closing Event of the Project

BCRC-Egypt decided to make the Closing Event of the “the Strengthening of the Regional Cooperation of Arab States in Hazardous Waste Management and Trans-Boundary Control” Project, on the sidelines of The 13th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention, Geneva, Switzerland from 24 April to 05 May 2017, to announce the official closure of the project funded by the Finnish Government. BCRC-Egypt decided to hold the event on the sidelines of the COP, in order to save the travelling expenses of the steering committees members who shall attend the COP on the expenses of their own countries. On the other hand, the presence of all the Arab focal points as observers will allow more exposure to the project activities to all the Arab states. The meeting took place on Tuesday, the 25th of April, 2017 at Geneva International Conference Centre (CICG), Geneva, Switzerland, in the presence of Dr. Rolph Payet, The Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions, Mr. Carlos Martin-Novella, The Deputy Executive Secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions and Dr. Mohamed Elkhashashna (Jordan), The President of the COPs Meeting 2015-2017 as the closing event guests of honor.

Attendance 

• Mostafa Hussein Kamel, BCRC-Egypt Director
• Renne Klinge, Minister - Deputy Permanent Representative, Finland’s Permanent Mission in Geneva
• Tina Kajakoski (Finland), The representative of the Finish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Mohamed Bayoumi, The representative of the UNDP
• Soliman Elzaban (Saudi Arabia), The Steering Committee Chair
• Mohamed Aman (Bahrain), The Steering Committee member
• Ghada Abdelmoniem (Egypt), The Steering Committee member and the Center Hosting Country.
• Ali Sabra (Lebanon)
• Nazem Eltlag (Syria)
• Mesheal Ibrahim (Kuwait)
• Esraa Monkez (Iraq)
• Youssef Moaed (Iraq)
• Reema Elhendy (Jordan)
• Nasser Mashaa (Saudi Arabia)
• Amal Elesawy (Morocco)
• Adel Shafie (Environmental Expert)
• Timo Seppälä (The Finnish Institute of Environment (SYKE))

The Meeting Summary

• Alzaban opened the closing ceremony by a welcome note, then he gave the floor to Prof. Kamel, BCRC-Egypt Director, who welcome the participants on behalf of BCRC-Egypt. He expressed his happiness to have that event as side event to the COPs meeting. He thanked Dr. Payet, Mr. Martin-Novella and Dr. Elkhashashna for being keen to share with BCRC-Egypt those great moments despite their full and busy schedule, which reflects the support BCRC-Egypt receives from the BRS Secretariat in general and from Dr. Payet and Dr. Elkhashashna in particular. Then he thanked Mrs. Tina Kajakoski, not only for her insistence to travel to attend that event and the steering committee meeting, but also for her tireless support to BCRC-Egypt throughout the project. Then he requested the participants to give a special applause for Mrs. Kajakoski. He, then, welcomed Mr. Renne Klinge, Minister - Deputy Permanent Representative, Finland’s Permanent Mission in Geneva. Also he added that he didn`t need to Thank Dr. Bayoumi for attending the meeting, since he personally considered him one of BCRC-Egypt family. Prof. Kamel explained that this event didn`t mean that the project is over yet and stated that BCRC-Egypt shall continue serving the Arab states with project funds until the end of 2017/beginning of 2018, after receiving the Project steering committee and the Finnish Government approval to extend the project with no extra cost. Also, Prof. Kamel acknowledged that the center steering committee in its meeting in the morning agreed to add two more members to the steering committee of BCRC-Egypt, namely Jordan and Lebanon, not only since they participated in most of activities, but also they both had a remarkable roles in all discussions related to the center activities. Also they are always committed to sharing their experience and knowledge with all the Arab states. Accordingly, the Center steering committee will be composed of: Saudi Arabia as the Chair, Sudan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, the Host country. Then he stressed that the success BCRC-Egypt achieved through this project will never be enough and BCRC-Egypt will remain ambitious to receive more contribution and efforts from the Arab states. Finally, Prof. Kamel expressed gratitude and appreciation of BCRC-Egypt and all the focal points from the Arab states to the Finnish Government, not only for its generous contribution in the project activities, but also for its continues support to BCRC-Egypt and all its 22 Arab members. Then Prof. Kamel ended his note by inviting all guests to visit BCRC-Egypt Booth in the Technology fair and thank the BRS secretariat for giving BCRC-Egypt the chance to present its activities in a booth.
• Payet delivered a brief speech in which he thanked Prof. Kamel for his invitation to attend that event. Also he highlighted that he was following and fully aware of the activities conducted by BCRC-Egypt and is proud of the project achievements and its remarkable outcomes. Finally he wished BCRC-Egypt all the success in all its future plans.
• After Dr. Payet Finished his speech, Prof. Kamel delivered BCRC-Egypt Shield to Dr. Payet out of gratefulness to all his support to BCRC-Egypt.
• Elkhashashna also gave a brief speech, where he expressed his satisfaction with the activities conducted by BCRC-Egypt, and he also noted that he is proud of being from the region that BCRC-Egypt serves. Finally, he stated that BCRC-Egypt should apply to be designate as a Stockholm Convention Regional center and he added that he is fully confident that its application will be approved by the BRS Secretariat.
• Kamel, then, delivered BCRC-Egypt Shield to Dr. Elkhashashna out of gratefulness to all his support to BCRC-Egypt.
• Renne Klinge, Minister - Deputy Permanent Representative, Finland’s Permanent Mission in Geneva, gave a word where he mentioned that he was happy to know about all the activities which were conducted by BCRC-Egypt, after he was briefed by Mrs. Kajakoski. He also acknowledged the cooperation that took place between the Finnish Government and BCRC-Egypt which fruitfully resulted in all those activities.
• Kamel, then, delivered BCRC-Egypt Shield to Mrs. Kajakoski out of gratefulness to all her support to BCRC-Egypt.
• Bayoumi, thanked BCRC-Egypt for inviting him to attend that event and he expressed his satisfaction that the outputs of the second phase of the project are the result of the partnership between BCRC-Egypt, the Finnish Government and the UNDP. Finally he stated that overseeing the project offered him a great this learning experience.
• Kamel, then, delivered BCRC-Egypt Shield to Dr. Bayoumi out of gratefulness to all his efforts with BCRC-Egypt.
• Then, Prof. Kamel invited Dr. Elnagdy, The Technical Officer, BCRC-Egypt, to make a detailed presentation on the project activities since its inception. Dr. Elnagdy delivered a detailed presentation covering all the activities which were conducted throughout the project. Also, Dr. Elnagdy listed the number of participations of each Arab state in the project activities. Finally he presented the proposed work plan for 2017 after the Project steering committee and the Finnish Government approve the extension of the project with no extra budget.
• Timo Seppälä, the Finnish Institute of Environment (SYKE) made a briefing on about the last activity jointly conducted by BCRC-Egypt and SYKE in March, 2017, Helsinki, Finland. That activity was a training program for the Basel Convention national focal points of the Arab States. This training focused on the recent measures Finland follows in hazardous waste management. This training included many site visits to facilities in Helsinki which are related to the topic of the training.
• Amal Elesway (Morroco) expressed her gratitude toward BCRC-Egypt for all the support and the valuable technical assistance which was offered through the project activities.
• Adel Shafie, stated that he witnessed the starting of the second phase of the project and that he is proud of what BCRC-Egypt achieved over the past three years and he hoped for more success.
• Finally, Prof. Kamel thanked all the guests and announced the closing of the event.