Egypt’s Irrigation Minister Hany Suwilam lauded the co-operation between Egypt and Italy in the field of water which is reflected in implementing “water knowledge project” funded by the Italian Agency for Development Co-operation (AICS), asserting that the important project contributes to training and building abilities in the field of water whether the Egyptians or Africans in addition to training a new generation of engineers and technicians from Egypt and Africa to serve the water issues.
This came in a speech given by Suwilam during his participation in a workshop on “empowering sustainable solutions and expanding the results of knowledge related to water” held in the Regional Training Center for Water Resources and Irrigation Works under the umbrella of “Water Knowledge Project” to review and follow up a number of results and outcomes of the project to build on them and discuss the future steps to promote and sustain cooperation with the Italian side and build the abilities in the field of water.
As many as 426 Egyptian trainees from the ministries of irrigation, agriculture, environment, housing and electricity were trained as part of the activities of the project in addition to 60 trainees from Africa who were trained in 15 training programs along with exchanging expertise and knowledge to reach an integrated approach to manage water via boosting infrastructure, improving quality and efficiency of the training process.
Suwilam pointed out to two of the most important challenges facing the water sector in Egypt including overpopulation and climate change that affect all the countries of the world not only Egypt.
Egypt expands in reusing sanitation water to bridge the gap between the resources and the needs, he said.
Meanwhile, Italian Ambassador to Egypt Michele Quaroni asserted Egypt’s desire to continue cooperation with Egypt in the field of water especially treating and reusing water in light of the water challenges facing Italy currently, lauding Egypt’s achievements recently in the field of treating and reusing water.
Also, Head of the AICS Martino Melli asserted the importance of training and building capabilities to handle water challenges, adding that this needs exchanging expertise between countries and applying the principles of water governance.
