Egypt, Bahrain discuss water treatment cooperation

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Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilem met with Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to Cairo, on Sunday to discuss enhancing future cooperation between the two countries in the field of water resources.

Sweilem highlighted Egypt’s eagerness to strengthen collaboration with Bahrain and other Arab countries by sharing knowledge and learning from successful experiences in water management.

The Bahraini ambassador expressed her country’s desire to cooperate with Egypt in the field of agricultural drainage water treatment. “We are eager to learn from the Egyptian experience in this field, especially in light of Bahrain’s current study of a proposal to establish a water treatment plant,” Zainal said.

Sweilem welcomed Bahrain’s interest in cooperation and invited Ibrahim Al-Hawaj, Minister of Public Works of Bahrain, and specialists from the Bahraini side to visit the New Delta and Bahr Al-Baqar water treatment plants in Egypt. He also stressed the importance of collaboration between the two countries in the field of desalination for intensive food production.

“Cooperation in desalination is one of the tools for dealing with water and food challenges in the Arab world,” Sweilem said.

The minister further emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation between the two countries in the field of training and capacity building for water sector workers, taking advantage of the Regional Training Center for Water Resources and Irrigation. Sweilem also called for increased research cooperation, leveraging the capabilities of the National Water Research Center and other research bodies in both countries.

Sweilem called on Bahrain to support the AWARe initiative, which aims to provide support to developing countries, especially African countries, to implement projects on the ground in the field of adaptation to climate change.