Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli ( Photo: Ahram)
Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli has said water scarcity represents a key challenge to Egypt for its negative impact on citizens.
Addressing the 2nd Cairo Water Week, which is held under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the premier predicted that water shortage would have a greater impact on the agriculture sector, stressing the importance of cooperation with the riparian states in the management of rivers, in accordance with the provisions of international law.
Madbouli touched on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD's) issue, saying the dam was built without conducting any environmental, economic or social studies.
In this regard, the prime minister added that Egypt sought through negotiations with the Ethiopian side to reach an agreement that takes into account Egypt's concerns with regard to the management and operation of the dam, as well as the quantities of water flowing to downstream countries.
These concerns prompted the Egyptian government to activate article no. 10 of the Declaration of Principles, signed in Khartoum in 2015, which allows for a fourth party to engage in the negotiations, he noted.
The premier noted that sustainable development plans rely on the availability of water resources, thus the government had drawn up a plan till 2037 for getting water from other sources, such as the desalination of sea water and the processing of wastewater.
He stressed that Egypt fully understands the need of Nile Basin countries for development, but without causing harm to others.
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