Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad has asserted Egypt’s support to the Bamako convention and called for cooperation among African countries to face the coronavirus pandemic without affecting the environment.

This came during her speech at a virtual meeting of the Bureau of the Bamako Convention on Saturday.

The minister also asserted that hazardous materials and waste were banned from being imported into Africa, noting the importance of controlling their trans-boundary movement.

She also underlined the importance of finding new measures to build African capabilities to deal with such hazardous materials and waste.

The Bamako Convention is a treaty of African nations prohibiting the import into Africa of any hazardous (including radioactive) waste.

The convention was adopted in 1991 and came into force in 1998 with the aim of protecting human and environmental health.