EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement participates in Cairo Water Week 2021

CAIRO – 23 October 2021: EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi will pay a two-day visit to Egypt where he will participate at the Cairo Water Week (CWW2021) due to convene on 24th-28th October 2021, said the EU mission to Egypt in a statement on Saturday.

 

Visiting Egypt for the first time on October 24-25, Várhelyi will hold a number of bilateral discussions with Egyptian and regional representatives, officials, the business community and civil society officials to tackle mutual interests, such as climate and environment, circular economy and clean energy transition, healthcare, digital economy, and migration, the statement said.

 

“The EU and Egypt can reinforce their partnership, while working to ensure an investment-friendly environment and inclusive economic growth, and with due regard to human rights. The EU and Egypt are close neighbors and strategic partners with a long history of friendship. The stability and prosperity of the population of Egypt is a shared interest,”  the statement said.

 

“This is reflected in the cooperation of the EU, its Member States and the European Financial Institutions with Egypt over the last ten years – with an active portfolio of EUR 11 billion in grants, loans and investments to assist Egypt across all sectors,” the statement continued.

 

He will give the opening speech at the CWW2021 and meet with Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Atty. The Cairo Water Week is a tangible example of a successful EU-Egypt partnership. 

 

“The Commissioner notes that we stand at a pivotal moment in the fight against the climate crisis and called on Egypt and on all countries to make the COP26 in November a success by ensuring enhanced ambition,” the statement said.

 

“The EU is a long-standing partner of Egypt in the water sector and has mobilized more than €550 million since 2007 in response to water challenges in the country, leveraging around €3 billion in investments for the sector and creating thousands of new jobs, helping over 18 million people,” the EU Commission said in another statement on Friday.