Irrigation min., Chile's parl't speaker discuss water cooperation

CAIRO, Feb 24 (MENA) - Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati had talks on Monday with Chile's Parliament Speaker Iván Flores and his accompanying delegation on promoting bilateral cooperation in the water score.

Abdel Ati hailed the visit of Chile's delegation, highlighting the depth of bilateral ties.

Flores said the meeting with President Abdel Fattah El Sisi underlined the importance of furthering bilateral ties.

During the meeting, Abdel Ati and Flores tackled a host of water issues in light of climate change.

Flores said his country seeks to draw on Egypt's experience in managing water resources as Chile is suffering from water shortage over declining rainfall under climate change.

For his part, Abdel Ati said Egypt is facing great challenges in view of limited water resources and growing demand on water.

He added that water levels are expected to shrink under climate change, noting that Egypt resorts to wastewater treatment in a bid to cover this gap.

He added that the ministry prepared a national water resources plan (2017-2037) in tandem with nine ministries on all needed measures to address water scarcity at a total cost of about 50 billion dollars.