Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty met via video conferencing with officials of the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) on Sunday to discuss coordination in preparing for the water pavilion that will be setup within the activities of the upcoming UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27).
Abdel Aty pointed out that the COP 27 — which Egypt will host in Sharm El-Sheikh this November — represents a golden opportunity to integrate water challenges with global efforts to adapt to climate changes and reduce related disasters.
The conference will also be an opportunity to link the various water-related initiatives undertaken by various organisations of the UN with the importance of developing clear plans to deal with climate change and providing the necessary funding for such plans, according to the minister.
Furthermore, he explained that Egypt is hosting the COP 27 as a representative of the African continent, where the focus will be on the continent’s priorities in the field of adaptation to the negative effects of climate change and increasing the resilience of water systems to deal with water challenges, stressing the importance of strengthening cooperation and exchanging experiences between African countries in the field of water and dealing with weather changes.
Abdel Aty also referred to the water pavilion, which will be organised within the conference at the highest level, with sufficient spaces to accommodate all events related to the water sector.
The minister noted that the pavilion will be organised in cooperation with many governments and international organisations, such as the Dutch and British governments, SIWI, the International Institute for Water Management, and the Alliances for Climate Action.
He added that recognising that water challenges are a top priority for countries, Egypt has organised the Cairo Water Week since 2018, which will hold its fifth edition this year just before the COP 27 and will be held under the title ‘Water at the heart of climate action,’ to address all its topics and aspects of complementarity between water and climate agendas.
