Alaa Abdelmotaleb, Vice President for Research Plan,
Alaa El-Din Abdin, General Supervisor for President’s office,
National Water Research Center
Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation
Egypt
- What are the experiences that Egypt is taking from the World Water Forum 8?
By attending the Forum, Egypt is increasing its effective participation in and contribution to the international communities of water. The Forum is a good platform for more international communication with professionals and organizations working in the water field. Egypt is willing to develop partnerships with other countries that have innovations and solutions to exchange ideas and work together. The forum provides a good opportunity to exert more efforts towards establishing international cooperation and common bases for sharing water.
- Do you think that the Forum help the countries to have new solutions for the water problems that many countries are facing?
The forum is an appropriate platform for each country to present its own challenges that hinder it from achieving water security and the UN-SDG’s. The Forum paves the way to everybody to share, communicate, and establish partnership towards developing together new solutions for the water problems that the countries are facing. UN institutions and the developed countries are encouraged to promote capacity development through technology and know-how transfer to the developing countries.
- Q. What do you think could be increased as ideas to help sustainability in the world?
First and last, cooperation based on continuous dialogue, cooperation, and benefits sharing with no harm to any riparian country. Comes next, respecting human rights regardless of their location and preserving the ecosystem and environment utilizing natural based solutions.
- Q. Have you been to other Forum? Please, feel free to talk about any other subject in this context and also about transboundary water in your region.
Yes.
Regarding transboundary water, Egypt believes in regional cooperation and benefit sharing among riparian countries, according to win–win and no harm principles and in a spirit of good political will. Riparian countries in any transboundary river basin should establish and enhance their cooperation, coordination on projects, and partnerships according to the principles of international law including customary international law as well as international, bilateral, and regional instruments.
As a proof of our believe in regional cooperation, a very promising cooperation project was launched in Cairo on the 7th of June 2013 and could be considered as a real example of what is called “cooperation beyond the river”. The project is “Establishment Of The Navigational Route Between Lake Victoria And Mediterranean Sea”. This project, championed by Egypt, is endorsed by the NEPAD Heads of States’, Governments’ Orientation Committee, and the African Union Assembly during the last AU Summit in January 2013 in Addis Ababa.
Finally, it is Egypt’s conviction that enhancing the cooperation among the world countries would bring concrete benefits to all human beings. We need to be unified by Water, the source of life and prosperity. Egypt has always been and will continue to extend a hand of cooperation, peace, and brotherhood to our brothers in the Nile Basin, and the whole world.
