As part of a 5-member delegation from George Washington University , Egyptian academic Salah Hassan, smart cities expert and professor of global marketing and Business Administration, attended George Washington University

Egyptian academic Salah Hassan, the author of the first study conducted on ecotourism in Egypt, said that the most important achievements and challenges of the cop27 climate conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh is to focus on community awareness, spreading the culture of green economy and sustainable development, especially with regard to the construction of new smart cities.

* Salah Hassan conducted the first study on ecotourism in Egypt entitled "The competitive advantage of the Egyptian Red Sea coast for the tourism industry", the study focused on the cities of Sharm el-Sheikh, Hurghada, Safaga and El-Qusair.

* The study proved that focusing on tourism with an environmental return has a strong, continuous and sustainable return, through making tourist tours that link archaeological tourism and coastal and beach tourism.

The study was conducted in April 1997 in cooperation between the International Center for Tourism Studies at George Washington University and the American aid agency, and its findings have been implemented in tourism in Egypt since that time.

He added that he will be the keynote speaker at a session on the global trend towards green cities, and that in his speech he will focus on the importance of developing new talents from young people to present ideas that keep pace with the trend towards a green economy.

Hassan pointed out that the reason for focusing his presentation at the climate conference on the need to develop new talents is that a recent study conducted by the "UNIDO" authority on the scale of development with regard to new Smart Cities based on green economy plans found that Egypt is in a high advanced ranking in the speed of moving towards those cities, such as the new city of El Alamein and the new administrative capital, and that Egypt's ranking in the speed of growth towards the green economy is similar to the speed of the United States, but the same study found Egypt in a late ranking regarding the availability of young talents who keep up with this trend with new ideas.

He explained that one of the most important challenges of this year's climate summit, which he will focus on in his speech, is to focus on green stories to stimulate communication and social participation to spread the culture of green entrepreneurship and adapt it, to attract international investments in supporting and managing innovative creative projects that encourage the integration of young people in terms of launching new smart cities or housing these cities, so that the rate of young people under the age of 30 in those cities exceeds 70 %.

He added that it is necessary to focus on building conscious youth in support of sustainable development and the green economy in relation to various aspects of life in new cities, whether industry, trade or agriculture, in order to build an integrated green system that preserves the future of the universe and faces climate changes that threaten its survival.

Egyptian scientist Salah Hassan explained that one of the most important pillars of this year's climate summit, which will be addressed in his speech, is to clarify that moving towards new smart cities is the best solution to the problems of old traditional cities that threaten the future of the universe, and then the best way to solve climate problems is to move towards a smart digital green economy with all its residential cities, transportation, industry, health and others.

He stressed that according to recent studies, 68% of the world's population will live in cities by 2050, so the rapid trend towards new smart cities is the way to confront the harmful environmental effects of this accumulation of the universe, and this is what the climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh will confirm and the need to direct investments and funding to achieve it, especially in developing countries, because the universe is one and any impact in a country extends to the rest of the world.

He revealed that at the climate summit, it will also be emphasized from the Egyptian experience that new cities should not only focus on targeting and attracting the rich, but also new smart residential cities are being made for the poor and middle-income, because the impact in the world is one of all classes, and therefore international financial institutions should work to encourage this type of new cities and provide a green life for everyone in various activities.

He stressed that the trend towards new smart cities has an important return in order to achieve the national income of countries in terms of sustainability of ecotourism or green tourism, which makes there are permanent flows of foreign exchange to countries.