The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced the conclusion of the official visit of a delegation from China’s Ministry of Water Resources to Egypt, held from 2 to 4 September 2026.
The delegation, led by Zhang Hongxing, Director of Water Resources Administration, included six senior officials and experts.
Minister Hani Swailem received on Sunday a detailed report on the visit, stressing that the next stage will focus on translating Egyptian–Chinese co-operation into concrete projects with practical impact.
Swailem highlighted priority areas including water reuse, smart irrigation, digital transformation and scientific research, supported by a joint action plan to accelerate implementation, transfer technology and build capacities.
The visit was part of the strategic partnership between Egypt and China, building on the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Beijing in November 2012.
It included the second meeting of the joint technical working group, co‑chaired by Walid Haqiqi from Egypt and Zhang Hongxing from China, where both sides reviewed Egypt’s water situation, challenges and the application of the “Water System 2.0” framework.
The two sides agreed on a joint executive plan to activate the MoU and deliver tangible results in fields such as digital water management, modern and smart irrigation, hydraulic monitoring, rainwater harvesting, flood risk management, agricultural wastewater treatment and reuse, low‑cost desalination, and capacity building.
The Chinese delegation also toured major national projects, including the New Delta project and its water treatment plant, the central information and digital transformation unit, GIS applications, rainfall and flood monitoring systems, hydrological measurement facilities, the National Water Research Centre, the Delta Barrages, and both the historic and modern Nile gauges at Al-Rawda in Manial.
