Egyptian president urges political commitment, partnership in water resources management

CAIRO, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) — Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday that safeguarding water, especially the Nile River, requires unwavering political commitment, diligent political efforts, and collaboration among countries to ensure achieving mutually shared aspirations.
Sisi made the remarks in a pre-recorded video speech at the opening of the 7th Cairo Water Week, an annual event dedicated to water resource management.
The president pointed out that the Nile River, which accounts for over 98 percent of Egypt’s water supply, is the source of life and survival of the Egyptian people.
However, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have been in talks for years over the technical and legal issues related to the filling and operation of the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the shared Nile River.
Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity from the dam project, while the downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan are concerned that the dam might affect their share of water resources.
In early September, Egypt sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council, rejecting Ethiopian “unilateral policies” regarding the fifth phase of filling its dam reservoir.
“Today, we are appealing to the entire world from Egypt to secure the bounty of the great Nile River, to recognize water as a fundamental human right, and to elevate its significance on the global agenda,” Sisi said in his opening remarks.
This year’s Cairo Water Week coincides with the Africa Water Week and the Africa Hydrological Conference.
The Egyptian president called on the international community to urgently bolster its support for African states’ endeavors in water resources management and to provide essential funding and technology for related projects and programs.
He also stressed the urgent need to discuss large-scale projects for leveraging shared transnational rivers to safeguard the safety and sustainability of international water resources. ■