Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi said that the Egyptian people are closely following up on the developments regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue, stressing that Egypt aspires to reach as soon as possible and without further delay, a balanced and legally binding agreement in line with the presidential statement of the UN Security Council in September 2021.
“Egypt is one of the driest countries in the world and is exclusively dependent on the Nile waters. We understand the development goals of Ethiopia, but the dangers of the Ethiopian Dam to Egypt and Sudan must be considered,” said Al-Sisi during delivering the opening speech at the fourth edition of Cairo Water Week (CWW) on Sunday.
The Egyptian President stressed the importance of upholding the principles of international cooperation and solidarity, which would enable people to face the current global challenges in connection with water issues. He added that these are challenges that are not divisible, either we succeed in confronting them by cooperating together, or we fall into the clutches of strife over them in a dispute where no parties win.
Al-Sisi further noted in his virtual speech, that choosing the theme of Cairo Water Week in its fourth session on “Water, Population and Global Changes”, came at a time when the world is witnessing rapid changes that affect water resources and make optimal management of them a very complex process. He noted that Egypt has a firm belief in the inevitability of international cooperation and multilateral action.
During his speech, the president pointed to the Egyptian plans and water projects, mentioning that Egypt has also developed a strategic plan for managing water resources until 2037.
Meanwhile, the Hungarian President Janusz Adir gave a speech in which he reviewed the history of Hungary in the field of water through the construction of facilities, water channels and irrigation systems since the third and fourth centuries AD, and the issuance of decrees related to water more than 900 years ago, and the start of water engineering training at the end of the 18th century.
Adir added that climate changes, floods and hurricanes cause severe damage to many countries around the world, in addition to the increasing population growth, which increases the pressures on the water system around the world.
