EU amb. pledges support to Egypt in water issues

CAIRO – 19 October 2018: Ambassador of the European Union to Egypt, Ivan Surkos congratulated the Egyptian government and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation on the good organizing of "Cairo Water Week - CWW".

Surkus asserted EU support to Egypt, especially in water-related issues. He also stressed that the EU had been supporting this event from the onset and throughout the preparation stage that kicked off in May.

“By improving the quality of water management, we secure the rights of this generation and next generations”, Surkus said during his speech at the CWW closing ceremony.

He stated that the EU's contribution to this event is based on the union's responsibility towards supporting the Egyptian government in any initiatives that could ensure a more effective management of water resources and an investment-friendly environment.
The first EU-Egypt Water cooperation, including an event titled "Water Business Forum", kicked off on Wednesday as part of the proceedings of the Cairo Water Week conference.

The two-day forum includes representatives from the Egyptian and European private sectors, Egyptian government officials and key figures from the water sector with the aim to determine the water’s key role in achieving sustainable economic growth and to how to best meet increasing demands and scarce resources.

The EU-EGYPT Water Dialogue, including representatives from European and international development partners and government of Egypt, aims at creating a policy dialogue platform to discuss key strategic issues in the water sector and how to best tackle them; reflecting transparency and mutual accountability, and drawing lessons from past and ongoing experiences for the betterment of the effectiveness of both investment portfolio, and overall sector development.

Egypt’s first Cairo Water Week (CWW) kicked off on Sunday under the auspices of President Sisi, aiming at increasing the public awareness of water rationalization for the sustainable development amid state of water shortage.

The four-day CWW is being held in cooperation with the European Union and the United Nations’ Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to tackle water issues, amid climate change that impacts the world’s freshwater. In March 2016, the United Nations Environment Program warned that 50 percent of the world’s population would face “severe water stress” by 2030.

The 2018 CWW is launched under the title “Water Conservation for Sustainable Development”. It aims at fostering awareness of water issues for sustainable development, facing water challenges via non-traditional methods and modern technology, and supporting implementation of integrated water management.

On the sidelines of the CWW, the African Young Water Professionals Forum was held, gathering 24 young people from 12 African countries of Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Malawi, Tanzania, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Ghana , and Morocco.

Meanwhile, the fourth session of the Islamic Conference of OIC for Water Ministers, held on Sunday, Oct. 14 on the sidelines of the CWW.