Dear Excellences, Colleagues and Friends
On behalf of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, It is my pleasure to welcome you to the forthcoming first Cairo Water Week, which will be held in Cairo on 14 – 18 October 2018.
The main theme of CWW 2018 is “Water Conservation for Sustainable Development” which will be covered through five interrelated topics: Water Management for Sustainable Development; Climate Change and Environment; Transboundary Water Governance and Benefit Sharing; Water Scarcity, Health, Sanitation Challenges and Opportunities; Science, Technology and Innovation.
Nowadays, the Middle East and North Africa is the world’s most water-scarce region and the situation is worsening due to the impacts of climate change.
Egypt, as many other countries in the world, faces serious challenges in terms of water security resulting from the increased water demands. Relying mainly on the Nile River, any unilateral upstream development projects may have adverse socio-economic repercussions. Experiences from around the world demonstrate that countries that have achieved regional water cooperation have prospered together and have avoided the threat of conflict a distant possibility.
Recently, further to the water rationalization programs pursued by the country, Egypt is widely practicing the reuse of drainage water and treated domestic wastewater to fulfill the gap between the resources and demands; besides the adopted policy of increasing the dependency on desalinated seawater in coastal cities. Nevertheless, investment in innovative policies and practices is crucial as research, and technology development and transfer would enable further improvements in water resources management, water use efficiency and crops productivity.
The CWW will provide an excellent platform for sharing knowledge, experiences, technologies and ideas to promote sustainable development through water conservation in different uses, and add benefits for all participants.
Water leaders, experts, and decision makers representing more than 100 countries are going to participate with high-level official delegations to discuss and share their ideas on common arising water problems and issues.
Looking forward to seeing you in CWW and welcoming you in Cairo in October, 2018.
Dr. Mohamed Abd El-Aty
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt
