Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Sweilem, met Mariam Khalifa Al Kaabi, UAE Ambassador to Cairo, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in water resources development, on Tuesday.

During the meeting, Sweilem stressed the importance of concerted efforts in the Arab region, which is one of the most water-scarce regions in the world, to work on finding innovative solutions to address water challenges such as expanding the use of non-traditional water.

The minister pointed out Egypt’s readiness to cooperate with the UAE in this field and transfer distinguished Egyptian expertise in the field of water treatment and reuse, as an Emirati delegation will visit the new and decisive Delta stations for treating agricultural drainage water in the coming few days.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed opportunities for Emirati investments in Egypt and the exchange of expertise in the fields of water management and modern irrigation methods, and desalination for intensive food production based on solar energy as one of the solutions to address the water deficit, especially in light of the similarity of water scarcity challenges facing the two countries.

The minister stressed the importance of applying the concept of the nexus between water, food and energy, especially since the agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water, while benefiting from the successful experiences of other countries in the field of desalination for intensive food production such as Morocco, Spain and Australia, and continuing studies and research concerned with reducing the cost of energy to reduce the cost of desalination.

The position of Egypt’s participation in the World Conference on Desalination, scheduled to be held in December 2024 in the United Arab Emirates, was also discussed.

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