Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel Aty, held a meeting with the ministry’s leaders, to discuss the outcomes of the Egyptian delegation’s visit to Iraq.
The meeting reviewed a study of establishing a treatment plant in Iraq similar to the treatment plant of Bahr El-Baqar. The plan aims to purify and treat water in the Euphrates River to confront the water shortage in the river in three Iraqi governorates ( Al-Nasriyah – Al-Diwaniyah – Basra).
Abdel Aty stated that in light of what was previously agreed upon with the Iraqi Minister of Water Resources regarding the exchange of technical visits between the two sides to benefit from the Egyptian experiences in the field of water management, Mohamed Heikal, consultant of Bahr El-Baqar water treatment plant and Hussein Al-Jammal, Director of the Drainage Research Institute, visited Iraq to study proposals for the treatment and reuse of water in Iraq.
He added that he is keen to follow up the file of cooperation with Iraq in the field of water resources and irrigation, in light of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two brotherly countries, and seeking to benefit the Iraqi side from the Egyptian experience in the field of water reuse.
The minister pointed to his keenness to participate in the Baghdad International Water Conference, the first and second editions of which were held in March 2021 and 2022, also referring to the distinguished participation of the Iraqi delegation headed by Mahdi Al-Hamdani in the Cairo Water Week, which is held in October of each year.
He explained that such technical visits come as an expression of Egypt’s belief in the need to achieve maximum levels of cooperation and coordination between the two brotherly countries to achieve the two peoples’ goals in sustainable development and access to the optimal management of our water resources.
Both Egypt and Iraq face challenges related to water security.
Three months ago, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Egypt and Iraq in the field of water resources, in addition to the formation of a joint technical steering committee from both sides.
