Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sewilam, received on Tuesday his Zimbabwean and South Sudanese counterparts at the headquarters of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in the New Administrative Capital.
The meetings came within the framework of Egypt’s presidency of the current session of the African Water Ministers Council for Water, and Egypt’s hosting of the activities of the thirteenth meeting of the General Assembly of the African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW) during the period from 13 to 15 June.
During the meetings, the International Initiative for Adaptation in the Water Sector (AWARe) was discussed, which will become the starting point for taking action and implementing projects on the ground for adaptation in the water sector, and putting previously developed plans into effect for the African continent.
In his meeting with Pal Mai Deng, the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of South Sudan, Sewilam stressed Egypt’s interest in meeting the needs of its brothers from the Nile Basin countries, especially South Sudan, in order to achieve the principle of benefit for all and no harm, which was evident in the implementation of many development projects.
He also affirmed Egypt’s keenness to consolidate bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries by building the capabilities of South Sudanese cadres through various training courses organized by the Egyptian Agency for Partnership for Development and other Egyptian ministries and institutions, noting that it was agreed to increase the number of technical cadres from South Sudan in training courses annually held by the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.
Sewilam also stated that the PAN AFRICAN Center for Water and Climate Adaptation “will be opened to train brothers from African countries in the field of adaptation to climate change under the umbrella of the adaptation Initiative, which will be an important platform for technical cadres from brotherly South Sudan to raise and build capacities in climate-related fields.”
During his meeting with David Marabira, the Minister of Land, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Development of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Sewilam invited him and the Zimbabwean delegation to participate in the inauguration ceremony of the African Center for Training and Capacity Building. He also stressed the close relations between Egypt and Zimbabwe.
