Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aty, former Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, said that the Egyptian state will not allow a water crisis to occur, and that it is preparing itself to absorb the expected water shocks, expressing the continued presence of investments and an increase in capabilities to absorb any shocks. Expected.
This came during an expanded conference held by the Justice Party under the title "Geopolitical Challenges in the Horn of Africa" In the presence of a number of representatives, thinkers and researchers in African affairs, and a number of leaders and symbols of African communities in Egypt from 23 African countries.
Abdel-Aty stressed that Egypt is serious about linking projects with other countries. Nile Basin, cooperation and peace are supposed to be the basis of relations between these countries, and a state of economic integration must be created that helps adapt to climate changes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, citing the existence of an integrated project for this, which is the Victoria Development Corridor – The Mediterranean Sea, which connects all the countries of the basin to each other from the sources of the Nile in the south to the Mediterranean Sea in the north.
Regarding relations with Ethiopia and the issue of the Renaissance Dam, he stressed that it is a problem and must be solved. It has a solution, as the declaration of principles between the two countries was a demonstration of good intentions on the part of Cairo, and Egypt will not allow serious harm to it from that dam, and the difference with Ethiopia was the problem regarding filling in years of drought, and it is a development dam if the amount of water stored behind it is 14 billion. A cubic meter of water, but it turns into a political tool if that quantity is raised to 74 billion metres, and with the end of the fifth filling of the dam, the previous flood years were high and did not affect the flow of water to Egypt.
2.2 billion people in the world without safe drinking water
He continued that there are about 2.2 billion people in the world without safe drinking water, and that half of the world’s population suffers from severe water scarcity for a period and does not have access to clean water. Regularly, he explained that there are 153 countries that have lands within one of the 310 transboundary river and lake basins and about 468 transboundary aquifer networks, but there are only 24 countries in the transboundary basins that have cooperation arrangements.
Abdul Ati touched on To the issue of drought in the world and its effects on all aspects, explaining a prominent example of this, which is a significant decrease in the amounts of ice on the Kilimanjaro Mountains in Tanzania from 1970 until the present day, giving an example of the indirect effects of drought, such as the emergence of the Boko Haram group, which was an indirect cause of the drought. Lake Chad, and for example in a governorate like Fayoum, water problems were the cause of many problems and disputes that reached the concerned parties. There are also other examples such as the drying up of the Aral Sea in Central Asia, due to the process of land use change, and the impact of coffee cultivation in Uganda due to increasing temperatures. Leading to drought.
The former minister moved on to talk about water sources in Egypt, detailing that the Nile River supplies Egypt with 95% of its water needs, 80% of its sources come from the Ethiopian Plateau and 15% from the Lakes Plateau, speaking about the presence of dams. Diversified water on the river helps preserve its water, but despite this, there is mismanagement of water, such as water loss in the swamp area in the Bahr el-Ghazal region in Sudan.
He talked about Egypt being one of the countries with the most The world is driest, as the desert represents about 95% of its area, and the agricultural area is only 3.5%. Despite this, most of the population lives in a narrow strip around the Nile Valley and the Delta, and 40% of the labor force is linked to the agricultural sector.
 
He added that there are many challenges facing Egypt in the water sector, including those related to climate change, such as rising sea levels, extreme droughts and floods, uncertainty in the supply of Nile water, and increasing temperatures, with challenges other than Related to climate change, such as population increase, limited water resources, the deterioration of the network of canals and drains, awareness and financing tools, and outdated laws and legislation.
With regard to the processes of transition towards modern irrigation in Egypt, he stressed However, water meters have been installed in some places related to irrigation from groundwater, and if there had been no awareness campaigns, agriculture would not have been transformed into modern irrigation in Egypt. Despite that transformation, there are several challenges, such as the presence of problems in providing spare parts for lifting water.
It is in our interest to work with South Sudan to build dams, but in coordination with Egypt, and by asking him about the "Entebbe Agreement" He explained that the signs of the agreement began in 1999 AD, when Egypt sought it on the basis that it would be based on the common vision of the basin countries, and the work of a group of projects to spread benefit through the proposed projects, but what happened after that under the leadership of Ethiopia led to the signing of the agreement between a number of basin countries in a way Separately, which led to Egypt and Sudan not recognizing what was signed in Entebbe in 2010.
In response to some other questions related to African issues, he stressed the existence of special relations between Egypt and Eritrea that contribute In the stability of the region, he also touched on popular diplomacy and its role in developing relations between African peoples.
