Egypt facing globally unique water scarcity, says minister

BALI, Indonesia – Egyptian Irrigation Minister Hany Sweilam said Monday that Egypt is facing a unique condition of water scarcity.

Topping the list of most dehydrated countries, Egypt has the lowest rainfall rates and suffers from water deficit that reaches 55 percent of its needs, Sweilam said in a speech he read out on behalf of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi in the 10th World Water Forum in Bali, Indonesia.

He also touched upon challenges posed by climate change, noting that increased use of available water resources has led to critical stages of declining per-capita water supplies and has aggravated the water scarcity crisis in many world countries.

Food is considered the biggest water-intensive domain in the world, which leaves countries with increased and complicated challenges to secure their basic needs, the minister said.

Unfortunately, Egypt is positioned in the heart of all such entangled challenges, namely water scarcity, food and climate change, Sweilam stated.

Egypt’s is a globally unique case of water scarcity, he noted.