Minister of Irrigation: The Nile is the lifeline and Egypt is one of the countries that suffer most from water scarcity
The seventh Cairo Water Week, held under the title “Water and Climate: Building Resilient Communities,” was launched a short while ago. In conjunction with the launch of the “Ninth African Water Week”, which is held under the patronage of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, during the period (13-17) October 2024, the opening ceremony was honored by an opening speech by President El-Sisi, President of the Republic, Prime Minister, and a number of ministers and senior officials Water in countries of the world, regional and international organizations, and the presence of a large number of ministers, official delegations, senior officials in the water sector, scientists, organizations, international institutes, civil society organizations, women, farmers, and jurists from various countries of the world.
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In his speech, Dr. Hani Sweilem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, confirmed that today we are witnessing an exceptional event that brings together experts, politicians and researchers from all over the world in the most prominent international events related to water, as this event represents an ideal platform to meet with Our brothers from the countries of the world, here on the land of the Nile, the heart of Egyptian civilization, where the Nile waters represent the lifeline and source of inspiration.
The Minister pointed out that Cairo Water Week this year is distinguished, said Dr. Hani Sweilem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation. Egypt suffers from water scarcity, as it is considered one of the driest countries with an annual rainfall rate that does not exceed 1.3 billion cubic meters. In contrast, the amount of rain falling in the countries of the Upper Nile River exceeds 1,600 billion cubic meters annually, and only 3% of this rain reaches Egypt. This confirms that there is no water scarcity in the countries of the Upper Nile River, and therefore there is no justification for competition over water. On the contrary, it must be a source of cooperation between the countries of the basin.
Swilem added: In the opening session of the “Seventh Cairo Water Week” Which is held under the title “Water and Climate: Building Resilient Communities” In the presence of Dr. Mostafa Madbouly and a number of ministers, heads of delegations, ambassadors and heads of international organizations, he stated that in confronting these challenges, Egypt is making huge and continuous efforts at all national, regional and international levels, explaining that at the national level we are developing comprehensively through many projects and procedures under the umbrella of the “Second Generation System.” Irrigation 2.0″, where we are developing the monitoring and operating system at the High Dam with the latest technologies and expertise, and Egypt is working during its presidency of the Council of African Ministers of Water “AMCA” In pushing for progress in the water issue at the level of the African continent, as well as highlighting the continent’s challenges on the global agenda, and holding discussions with donors to mobilize more funding to achieve water security on the continent.
The Minister of Irrigation explained that at the regional level, it adheres to Egypt stresses the importance of adopting the rules and principles of international transboundary water law, with the aim of ensuring fairness and avoiding harm. Egypt is keen to strengthen the bonds of cooperation with the Nile Basin countries, which is represented in many bilateral cooperation projects implemented and funded by the Egyptian state in Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa. Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, and Rwanda, which consists of implementing hundreds of projects in areas, the most important of which are clearing waterways of aquatic weeds, dams for protection and water harvesting, providing water for drinking and domestic uses, resisting the effects of climate change, and training and capacity building.
Sweilem pointed out: On the international level, Egypt has actively participated in all international water initiatives, as it was able, in cooperation with international partners, to place water at the heart of climate action. It also played an effective role in joint leadership with the State of Japan in the third interactive dialogue on water and climate, which resulted in Recommendations that help draw the road map for the Water Decade agenda until 2028.
The Minister of Irrigation pointed out that Egypt is working on digital transformation in all sectors, and we are currently moving to use environmentally friendly natural materials to protect beaches and rehabilitate canals, in addition to The gradual shift from distributing water at levels to disposal, and the digital transformation in the management of the water system, in addition to the introduction of advanced treatment technology and water desalination for agriculture, the governance of groundwater management, and attention to training and raising the efficiency of workers. Scientific research is also one of the most important pillars of the irrigation system 2.0.
Sweilem drew attention to In addition to launching the (AWARe) initiative to adapt to climate change, which more than 30 countries have joined so far, the African Center for Water and Climate Adaptation (PACWA) has been launched, where two hundred trainees from Africa have already been trained, and financial funds have been provided. To train more than three thousand African brothers during the next three years, and partnerships were concluded with “WMO, UNESCO, FAO, and the United Nations Development Program UNDP.” With the aim of providing technical support and formulating projects on the ground in African and developing countries.
Sweilem stressed that today we are witnessing an exceptional event that brings together experts, politicians and researchers from all over the world in the most prominent international events related to water, as this event represents an ideal platform to meet with our brothers. From the countries of the world, here on the land of the Nile, the heart of Egyptian civilization, where the Nile waters represent the lifeline and source of inspiration.
Cairo Water Week this year is distinguished by the participation of more than thirty regional and international entities, as the week includes five general sessions There are one hundred and fifty-five sub-session, and the event also includes an exhibition in which twenty-five local and international institutions participate. African Water Week is held under the slogan “Putting water and sanitation at the heart of achieving the 2063 Agenda… The Africa we want With the participation of more than thirty regional and international entities, the week includes five general sessions and (one hundred and fifty-five) sub-sessions, and the event also includes an exhibition in which twenty-five local and international institutions participate.
African Water Week is held Under the slogan “Putting water and sanitation at the heart of achieving the 2063 Agenda…the Africa we want.”
Sweilem stressed that Egypt suffers from water scarcity, as it is considered one of the driest countries with an annual rainfall rate that does not exceed 1.30. One billion cubic metres. In contrast, the amount of rain falling in the Upper Nile River countries exceeds 1,600 billion cubic meters annually, and only 3% of this rain reaches Egypt, which confirms that there is no water scarcity in the Upper Nile River countries and therefore there is no justification for competition over water. On the contrary, it must be a source of cooperation between the basin countries, pointing out that in confronting these challenges, Egypt is making huge and continuous efforts at all national, regional and international levels. At the national level, we are developing comprehensively through many projects and procedures under the umbrella of “Second Generation Irrigation System 2.0”, where we are developing the monitoring and operating system at the High Dam with the latest technologies and expertise. We are also working on digital transformation in all sectors, and we are currently moving towards using environmentally friendly natural materials to protect beaches and rehabilitate canals, in addition to the gradual transformation of Distribution of water at levels for disposal, digital transformation in the management of the water system, in addition to the introduction of advanced treatment technology and water desalination for agriculture, governance of groundwater management, and attention to training and raising the efficiency of workers, and scientific research is one of the most important pillars of the irrigation system 2.0.At the regional level, Egypt adheres to the importance of adopting the rules and principles of international transboundary water law, with the aim of ensuring fairness and avoiding harm. Egypt is keen to strengthen the bonds of cooperation with the Nile Basin countries, which is represented in many bilateral cooperation projects that It is implemented and funded by the Egyptian state in (Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Tanzania, and Rwanda), which consists of implementing hundreds of projects in the most important areas (cleansing waterways of aquatic weeds – Dams for protection and water harvesting – Providing water for drinking and domestic uses – Resistance to the effects of climate change – Training and capacity building).
At the international level, the Minister of Irrigation confirmed that Egypt has actively engaged in all international water initiatives, as it has been able, in cooperation with international partners, to place water at the heart of climate action, and has also played an effective role in joint leadership with The State of Japan participated in the third interactive dialogue on water and climate, which resulted in recommendations that help draw the road map for the agenda of the Water Decade until 2028.
In addition to launching the (AWARe) adaptation initiative With climate change, which has been joined by more than thirty countries so far, the “African Center for Water and Climate Adaptation” (PACWA) has been launched, where two hundred trainees from Africa have already been trained, and financial funds have been provided to train more than three thousand African brothers during the three years. In the coming years, partnerships were also concluded with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), UNESCO, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). With the aim of providing technical support and formulating projects on the ground in African and developing countries.
Egypt is also honored to chair the African Ministers of Water Council (AMCOW), during which Egypt works during its presidency to advance progress in the water file at the level of the African continent, as well as to highlight The continent’s challenges are on the global agenda, and discussions are being held with donors to mobilize more funding to achieve water security on the African continent
