Dr. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, said that water is a vital element of the economy, as it supports major sectors such as agriculture, energy, industry, and manufacturing, and in light of the current high demand, it requires the provision of additional sources, and to deal with this reality, Egypt has adopted a comprehensive strategy to 2037 to address water scarcity, in addition to a national strategy for drinking water and sanitation that focuses on improving water quality, expanding resources, reducing consumption, and promoting sustainable development, a topic that intersects with many national development projects.
This came during the speech. She delivered it during the activities of the first regional conference of the European Investment Bank, held in Cyprus, entitled “Water Challenges in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region: Sustainability and Resilience,” which aims to shed light on the pressing water challenges facing the southern and eastern Mediterranean region, and bring together experts. And policymakers and stakeholders to promote common solutions.
The conference will be held in the presence of Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyriakos Kakouris, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, and Mary Beth Goodman, Deputy Secretary-General To the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and other representatives of international institutions, governments, and development partners.
In her speech delivered via video, the Minister referred to the presidential initiative “A Decent Life” Which contributed to increasing the rate of access to water and sanitation services to the Egyptian rural population, which contributed to increasing the rate of access to sanitation services in the participating villages by 45% between 2021 and 2024.
She explained that the Mediterranean region today faces severe water challenges as a result of climate change, population growth, and high demand, and water scarcity threatens food security, energy, and economic stability. To address this situation, we need to strengthen regional cooperation and establish partnerships with financial institutions and the sector. Special funding to stimulate the necessary financing to develop sustainable water infrastructure, ensuring flexibility and security of resources in the long term.
Al-Mashat referred to the ministry’s new framework following the merger of the Ministries of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, which It places sustainable economic growth at the heart of policies, by formulating economic policies based on data and evidence, and building an economy capable of addressing future challenges, through an integrated financing framework, and this is achieved through broad participation of stakeholders, including national coordination and international cooperation. She stressed that the water sector is at the heart of our economic policies, enabling us to confront the main challenges in this field, while enhancing flexibility, resource efficiency and sustainability in the long term.
Al-Mashat highlighted Launching the national platform for the “NOVA” program The axis of the link between water, food and energy projects during the COP27 climate conference to accelerate the national climate agenda in Egypt, and through concrete and implementable projects. This program transforms Egypt’s National Climate Change Strategy 2050 from commitments to actual implementation, through various projects to mitigate the effects of climate change and adaptation. With him.
She pointed out that Egypt hosted Cairo Water Week, during which it launched the “Team Europe in the fields of water, agriculture and rural development” initiative, which is an important milestone in cooperation with the team. Europe, stressing that despite the progress achieved, developing countries still face major challenges related to financing gaps.
It stressed that the European Investment Bank is one of the largest development partners and leads financing operations. The country’s private sector, since 1989, has contributed more than 1.2 billion euros to vital water infrastructure projects in Egypt, making Egypt the largest beneficiary of water financing provided by the Bank in Africa. Ongoing partnerships also include a number of projects in the field of water, such as the "Sea level rise in the Nile Delta" Within the “Novi” programme.
It is worth noting that the current portfolio of the European Investment Bank in Egypt includes financing of more than 200 million euros from grant financing provided by the European Union Commission, In addition to soft financing from the European Investment Bank and technical assistance grants, Egypt is considered the largest country of EIB operations outside Europe, and the largest beneficiary of EIB water financing in Africa.
The European Investment Bank, in cooperation with the Ministry of Housing, the Ministry of Irrigation, and the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt, is working to implement three initiatives: sludge management solutions by opening investment to meet the challenges in managing sludge resulting from wastewater treatment, and benefiting from its potential as fertilizer in agriculture, in addition to the Coastal Protection Initiative. By protecting coastal resources from the risks posed by rising sea levels, as well as the Irrigation Adaptation Initiative to adapt irrigation systems in Egypt to climate change and improve water use efficiency.
