CAIRO – Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aati said Egypt’s water sector faces major challenges, topped by limited water resources, unilateral measures taken by the Ethiopian side regarding the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and climate change and its negative impact.
This came during the minister’s participation in the Bonn Water Dialogues for Results, organized by the German government and is held virtually as a high-level culminating event of an initiative to accelerate the implementation of the water-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The meeting is part of preparations for the 2023 UN Water Conference in Dushanbe, where an initial stocktake of the UN Water Action Decade will take place.
In his word at the meeting, the minister said Egypt is one of the countries with the highest water stress, citing Egypt’s water resources that mainly come from the Nile River’s waters and are estimated at nearly 60 billion cubic meters annually.
Egypt’s water resources also include very limited amounts of rainwater, which are estimated at about one billion cubic meters, in addition to deep and non-renewable groundwater in deserts, the minister noted.
However, Egypt’s total water needs are estimated at nearly 114 billion cubic meters annually, he noted.
In an attempt to bridge this gap, Egypt resorts to treat wastewater and reuse agricultural drainage water and surface groundwater in the New Valley and Delta regions, in addition to importing food products, equivalent to 34 billion cubic meters of water annually, the minister explained.
