Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt (October 2026) – Last month, upon the heels of the UN General Assembly, I had the absolute pleasure to accept an invitation to visit the Egyptian cities of Cairo and Alexandria from the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF) of Egypt. Professors Hamouda, Moneer and El-Gharabawy, are technical experts in both oceanography and sustainability and truly understand the importance of building the political will necessary to progress the sustainable use of ocean resources. This focus and depth of purpose was evident in all of my interactions in Egypt and ignited a true passion for collaborating across all of its ministries to take our  mandate on knowledge sharing, capacity building and pursuit of the best available science to its next level.