Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam met on Tuesday with Marco Riccardo Rusconi, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Co-operation, and Emilio Ciarlo, Director General of One Water Committee, affiliated to the Euro-Mediterranean Forum.
The meeting came on the sidelines of the minister’s participation in the Sixth Arab Water Forum, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
During the meeting, the two sides discussed ways to enhance water co-operation between Egypt and Italy. Sweilam highlighted the importance of benefiting from Italian expertise, especially given the shared water and climate challenges facing the Mediterranean region.
Sweilam referred to the Egyptian efforts made to confront the challenges of limited water resources and climate change and to study the reliance on desalination as a tool to improve the sustainability of water resources and bridge the gap between resources and water needs.
The minister pointed out to the “Egyptian-Italian Water Training Programme”, financed by the Italian Co-operation Development Agency,with the main objective of enhancing specific and professional knowledge in the field of water management.The programme intends to improve capacities of relevant Egyptian training provider in the field of water management by ensuring a flexible and efficient training hub in Egypt and in the region.
The Italian side reviewed ongoing preparations for the “Euro-Mediterranean Forum,” which Italy is set to host in 2026. Both sides agreed on the importance of coordinating between the forum and the Cairo Water Week.
Sweilam emphasised the importance of Italy’s support for the AWARe Initiative, noting that the initiative aims to implement projects that produce tangible results in climate adaptation. He also reviewed the steps taken in recent months to secure funding from donor agencies for water and climate adaptation projects in several Arab and African countries.
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