The Cairo Water Week (CWW) ends tomorrow after long deliberations about the water security.
The annual week-long event organised by the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources has been gaining importance as water is an existential issue for Egypt affecting the lives of more than 100 million people.
The world faces multiple and complex challenges related to increasing demand for water, scarce water resources, clean water supply, and the mismanagement of water resources, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said in his speech broadcast at the opening of the CWW.
There is an urgent need to strengthen transboundary cooperation in managing shared water resources, he added.
More than 300 million African people have difficulty accessing clean drinking water, according to United Nations reports. This constitutes an existential crisis, given climate change, weak capabilities, and the absence of effective solutions, President Al-Sisi said, adding that the Arab world is one of the world’s most rainfall-scarce regions and depends for most of its water on sources outside its borders.
The future of water security is not a luxury and depends on effective international cooperation, Al-Sisi said, pointing out that in the past few days Ethiopia, through its undisciplined management of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), has caused damage to the two downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan as a result of irregular water flows released without notification or coordination with the two countries.
This makes it imperative for the international community in general, and the African continent in particular, to confront such reckless actions by the Ethiopian government and ensure the proper regulation of water releases from the dam within the framework of the agreement sought by the two downstream countries.
This is the only way to achieve a balance between the genuine development of the upstream countries and the avoidance of harm to Sudan and Egypt, Al-Sisi said.
He explained that there are several sound technical alternatives that meet Ethiopia’s stated goals and safeguard the interests of both downstream countries. Egypt’s choice of a diplomatic path over the course of 14 years of negotiations with Addis Ababa over the GERD does not stem from weakness, he said, even as these efforts were met with an Ethiopian attempt to impose a fait accompli and claim sovereignty over the River Nile.
The CWW also highlighted progress on UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six, which aims to achieve universal access to safe and affordable drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene by 2030.
The most significant challenge hindering progress towards achieving Goal Six is the financing gap, estimated at more than $1 trillion annually. Limited financing models, weak governance, and fragmented investments remain major obstacles to progress, said Abdelhakim Elwaer, assistant director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.
According to a 2024 UN report on the mid-term status of SDG Goal Six indicators, global water use efficiency increased by about 20 per cent between 2015 and 2021. However, about 58 per cent of countries still exhibit low levels of water use efficiency, particularly those with economies heavily dependent on agriculture.
Moreover, around 10 per cent of the world’s population live in areas experiencing high or critical water stress, Elwaer said.
“Since 2015, global water stress has increased by 2.7 per cent, reaching 18.6 per cent in 2021. However, there are significant regional variations, with North Africa facing a critical water stress level of around 120 per cent, the highest among all regions of the world,” he added.
“This is driven by population growth, changing consumption patterns, and the impacts of climate change. This places the region at the heart of the water scarcity crisis, with many countries resorting to desalination, reuse of treated water, and food imports to meet the growing demand.”
According to Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sweilam, CWW 2025 is taking place under the theme “Innovative Solutions for Climate Resilience and Water Resources Sustainability”, with a view to transforming water issues from discussions to decisions and beginning implementation phases based on clear policies and transboundary partnerships.
Because Egypt is classified among the most water-scarce countries in the world, with an annual rainfall of only 1.3 billion cubic metres and per capita water availability of around 500 cubic metres annually, half the global water poverty line, it has been necessary to transition to a second generation and more flexible and innovative water-management system, Sweilam said.
The situation has also been exacerbated by escalating challenges resulting from population growth and climate change.
“This qualitative transformation is embodied by integrating digital technology, artificial intelligence, and remote sensing into water management and improving its efficiency to serve various sectors,” he said
Jessika Roswall, European commissioner for environment, water resilience, and a competitive circular economy, said that by 2030 global water demand will exceed available resources by 40 per cent.
The European Water Resilience Strategy, adopted in June, is a roadmap to a sustainable water future ensuring clean and affordable water for all, she said.
It addresses growing water challenges, including climate change, pollution, and water scarcity, and outlines three main objectives: restoring and protecting the water cycle; building a water-smart economy; and securing clean and affordable water.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 October, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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