Egyptian delegation visits Iraq to study establishment of water treatment plant on Euphrates River

CAIRO – 20 June 2022: Egypt’s Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati held a meeting with officials to discuss the outcomes of an Egyptian delegation visit to Iraq to study the establishment of a water treatment plant on the Euphrates River.

According to a statement by the Ministry of Irrigation on Monday, a report was discussed during the meeting to establish a treatment plant in Iraq that is similar to Egypt’s Bahr El-Baqar wastewater treatment plant.

The Iraqi plant will operate to purify and desalinate water at the Euphrates River to face the decrease in the river’s water in the three Iraqi governorates of Nasiriyah, Diwaniyah, and Basra, according to the ministry.

The meeting gathered ministerial officials as well as representatives of Egypt’s leading global engineering and construction contractor Orascom and Mohamed Heikal, consultant for Bahr El-Baqar plant.

Abdel Atil said he is keen to follow up the file of cooperation with Iraq in the field of water resources and irrigation in light of the memorandum of understanding signed between the two brotherly countries in this regard and the importance that the Iraqi side benefit from the Egyptian experience in the field of water reuse.

Such technical visits reflect Egypt’s belief I the necessity of achieving the utmost levels of cooperation and coordination with Iraq to meets the aspirations of the two countries’ peoples in achieving sustainable development and ensuring optimum use of their water resources.

A memorandum of understanding was earlier signed between Egypt and Iraq in the field of water resources. This is in addition to the formation of a joint technical committee from both sides and the formation of a joint working group of Egyptian technicians that made several field visits to Iraq.

Moreover, a joint formulation of a clear work program that reflects the areas of cooperation between the two countries has been formed. This includes cooperation in the fields of modern irrigation techniques, water reuse and treatment, eradication of desertification, and other fields.