Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sweilem, met with his Tunisian counterpart, Abdel Moneim Belati, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, on Tuesday.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the fifth session of the “Mediterranean Water Forum” held in Tunis.
The two ministers reviewed ways to enhance cooperation and exchange of experiences between the two countries in various technical fields, such as water treatment and reuse and adaptation to climate change, under the memorandum of understanding signed between them in 2015.
They also discussed the unified vision being prepared for the “Mediterranean Water Forum,” which will be presented at the “Tenth World Water Forum,” scheduled to be held in Indonesia in May 2024.
Sweilem highlighted the achievements made in support of the AWARe initiative, which aims to help developing countries, especially African countries, adapt to climate change. He said that 24 countries have joined the initiative so far, and a secretariat has been established in Geneva to follow up on its activities.
He also mentioned that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has prepared a concept note for Water-Energy-Food Nexus regional projects that will be funded by the Green Climate Fund.
He added that UNESCO has started a series of workshops on WEF Nexus projects, the first of which was opened at the Ministry’s regional training center. He said that the Ministry has coordinated with the World Meteorological Organization to activate the early warning system.
Sweilem invited the Tunisian side to benefit from the “African Center for Training and Capacity Building in the Field of Adaptation to Climate Change,” which was established under the AWARe initiative.
