Irrigation minister: Egypt, Japan established distinguished cooperation over many years

CAIRO - 20 September 2022: Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam asserted that Egypt and Japan have established an outstanding level of cooperation that extended for many years through implementing a variety of projects and feasibility studies along with activities for building the capabilities of the water resources domain.

These remarks were made by the minister during his meeting with Japanese Ambassador in Cairo Oka Hiroshi and representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

During the meeting, the two sides discussed rehabilitation and improvement of the water facilities for effective and equitable distribution of irrigation water in the command area of Bahr Yusef canal, is a canal which connects the Nile River with Fayyum in Egypt.

They also addressed establishing the new Dairout barrages on Bahr Youssef to serve 1.5 feddans in five governorates including Assiut, Minya, Beni Suef, Fayyoum and Giza.

Two feasibility studies have been conducted to rehabilitate the irrigation system on Bahr Youssef, one by the JICA and another by the Japanese Sanyo consultancy office.

During the meeting, Sewilam briefed the Japanese side on current preparations for holding a water event on the fringe of the UN Climate Conference, due to be held in Sharm El Sheikh in November. The event is expected to review the Japanese expertise and applications on the use of solar energy in the desalination of water at the small water stations.

The Japanese ambassador, for his part, affirmed the depth of ties binding Egypt and Japan in all fields especially the water resources.(