President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s Speech at the Opening of the 4th Session of the Cairo Water Week

“In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful”

Ladies and Gentlemen, Egypt’s honorable guests,

I am pleased to welcome you in the 4th session of Cairo Water Week 2021. From the banks of the Nile, the patron of life for millions of Egyptians and the catalyst for munificence and growth since the dawn of history to the civilizations of the peoples of the Nile Valley which have contributed and continue to play a major role in the formulation of human heritage and the creation of human thought throughout the ages.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The choice of the Cairo Water Week’s theme in its 4th session is “Water, Population and Global Changes - Opportunities and Challenges”, which comes at a time when the world is witnessing rapid changes that affect water resources, making their optimal management a complex operation.

Needless to say, the water crisis is one of the most pressing international challenges due to the steady increase in the world's population, met with stagnating fresh water resources, environmental deterioration, climate change, and irrational human behavior embodied in the establishment of ill-considered water projects, dismissing the importance of maintaining the safety and sustainability of international water resources.

All of these factors contribute to the aggravation of the crisis and impact the ability of states to meet the water needs of their peoples, ultimately turning the issue of managing water resources into a challenge that affects the security and safety of states and peoples which, in turn, may affect the stability of entire regions.

In light of this critical international crisis, and based on Egypt’s firm belief in the inevitability of international cooperation and multilateral action, with the United Nations system at the heart of it, Egypt has constructively engaged in the process of the UN’s Water Action Decade 2018-2028. We actively participated in its various stages and took initiative in coordinating with a number of friendly countries to launch a statement on the path of the Water Action Decade, and the upcoming UN conference, to review the comprehensive mid-term of the Water Action Decade, in March 2023.

From the same standpoint, Egypt welcomed organizing Cairo Water Week, in its current and upcoming 4th sessions in October 2022, in line with the UN Water Action Decade’s path to open a comprehensive and broad discussion between various stakeholders from governments, civil society, experts, academics, women, and youth with the aim of advancing international efforts to confront water-related challenges; specifically, ones related to water scarcity, securing human access to it, and strengthening cross-border cooperation in order to build complementary frameworks that consolidate regional stability on the basis of mutual benefit and common interests.

Ladies and Gentlemen

At the national level, Egypt firmly believes that advancing development efforts is a fundamental condition for enhancing international peace and security and establishing a stable World Order. We have adopted a comprehensive vision “Egypt 2030” in an ambitious national program that addresses all walks of life. We have placed utmost priority on the sixth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals with regard to water.

Egypt has also developed the strategic plan for the management of water resources until the year 2037 at an estimated preliminary cost of 50 billion dollars. This amount doubled as a result of the current implementation rates. The plan is based on four main pillars:

First: Improving the quality of water, including the establishment of bilateral and trilateral treatment plants.

Second: Developing new water resources. The last period witnessed a growing national orientation toward the localization of the seawater desalination technology.

Third: Rationalizing the use of the available water resources and enhancing the capacity of the Egyptian irrigation system. The state has adopted a national project for canal lining and switching to modern irrigation systems, with the aim of leveraging our limited water resources.

Fourth: Creating a conducive environment, in line with work programs and water projects through legislative and institutional development. This is in addition to increasing the citizens’ awareness regarding the significance of rationalizing water use and preserving it from all forms of waste and pollution.

Egypt is taking these steps to counter formidable and complex challenges. The per capita share of water in Egypt does not exceed 560 cubic meters annually, at a time when the United Nations’ threshold for water poverty stands at 1000 cubic meters. Egypt is the driest country in the world, receiving the least average rainfall among all countries. This makes Egypt rely almost exclusively on the Nile River water, which originates outside its borders.

Therefore, this difficult water equation puts the state of Egypt as an early model for what the situation could be like in a number of world countries in the near future, with the persistence of the water scarcity challenges and the inability to establish trans-border coordination and cooperation in an effective manner, according to the relevant rules of international law.

In this regard, the Egyptian people are closely following the developments in the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dossier. I would like to reiterate that we seek to reach, in the shortest time possible and without procrastination, a balanced and legally-binding agreement in this regard, in line with the Presidential Statement issued by the Security Council in September 2021. This shall help achieve the development goals of Ethiopia, which we understand and even support, and at the same time limit the water, environmental, social and economic harm of this dam on Egypt and Sudan, based on respecting the rules of international law and in a manner that strengthens cooperation and coordination.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Finally, I would like to underscore the importance of upholding the principles of cooperation and international solidarity, which shall empower nations to face the current global challenges in water-related issues. This aims to successfully address them through our cooperation and avoid disputes over it. No one will emerge as the winner in a reckless struggle over the source of life, which shall be provided to every human being without discrimination.

Therefore, I invite you all to engage in a constructive manner, that is characterized by objectivity and transparency, in the activities of the 4th session of the Cairo Water Week and to launch thorough conversations that tackle various dimensions of water issues, including their technical, political, legal, environmental, developmental and economic aspects.
I, also, hope your deliberatons will allow for the development of concepts and principles related to enhancing the rational and sustainable management of water resources, while urging countries sharing international rivers to uphold the principles of integration and participation, activate the rules of justice and fairness and not to harm the interests of their neighbhours.
I would like to reiterate that Egypt will spare no efforts to push the water agenda at the United Nations and multilateral fora and to secure getting the necessary attention that corresponds to the priceless value of water, that is directly related to the survival of the human being and entire nations.
Thank You