Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sweilam; participated in the 86th session of the Cairo Climate Discussions, which was held under the title “Egypt’s Water Resources and Climate Change…Policies, Technology and Societal Solutions” under the auspices of the German and French embassies in Egypt.
During his speech, Sweilam highlighted the challenges facing the water sector in Egypt, such as population growth, and the challenges associated with the effects of climate change, such as the unexpected impact on the sources of the Nile, especially since Egypt depends 97% on the waters of the Nile River, the lack of rainwater falling inside Egypt, and the high-temperature heat, which leads to an increase in water consumption in all uses.
He pointed out that the water sector is the mainstay of all sustainable projects, as sustainable development plans depend on providing the necessary water resources to implement these plans. He pointed out that the Egyptian state has adopted a strategy for managing water resources until 2037, and the National Climate Change Strategy for the year 2025, which aims to adapt to climate change.
Moreover, the minister reviewed the future vision in managing water resources through expanding applied research that serves the water sector, striving to improve the water distribution process in Egypt through the use of telemetric systems, expanding the use of solar energy to raise the water used for irrigation, and striving to focus the efforts of Egyptian researchers in low-cost water treatment and desalination fields.
He further reviewed Egypt’s successful efforts during the past period to put water at the heart of global climate action through the activities of the Fifth Cairo Water Week and the COP27, calling on everyone to support the international initiative for adaptation in the water sector, which Egypt launched during the last climate conference.
Sweilam pointed out that Egypt, in cooperation with Japan, chaired the “Third Interactive Dialogue on Water and Climate” during the activities of the “United Nations Water Conference” held last March, where global challenges were presented and the need to adopt a joint process to fully link and integrate water-related decisions in global agreements and frameworks.
