Irrigation min.: Egypt faces many water challenges topped by GERD, overpopulation

CAIRO - 5 December 2021: Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati said Egypt faces several water challenges topped by the unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), overpopulation, climate change as well as the limited water resources, a matter which required outlining necessary policies for an integrated management of water resources as water is a vital issue for achieving sustainable development.

The minister's remarks were made at a lecture he delivered to a number of Hungarian diplomats from the Hungarian Diplomatic Academy as he addressed the issue of Egypt water status and the projects carried out by the Egyptian state in order to cope up with the impact of climate changes.

The lecture, titled "Water Management in Egypt and Climate Change.. Opportunities and Challenges", was made at the premises of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry on the fringe of the minister's participation in Planet Budapest 2021 Sustainability Expo and World Conference.

The minister reviewed Egypt's water status as he highlighted that Egypt is depending on the River Nile in meeting 97 percent of its water needs, noting that Egypt needs of water estimated at 114 billion cubic meters annually, while its water resources do not exceed 60 billion cubic meters. The shortage in water supplies is about 54 billion cubic meters which are being fulfilled through the recycling of water and importing agricultural crops.

He also shed light on the major projects carried out by the state to increase the ability of its water system to tackle the water challenges with high efficiency and flexibility.

Abdel Aati also tackled the current status of the GERD and explained that Egypt showed high flexibility in the talks over the GERD filling and operation in order to reach a binding and just agreement on the dam issue.

He said Ethiopia is intentionally issuing fabricated information on the dam's unilateral management, a matter which caused big damage on the Upstream Nile countries, adding that Sudan has suffered a lot from a wave of drought as a result of the unilateral filling of the dam last year.