Irrigation Minister, Hani Sweilem. Photo: Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation
The funding mechanism was launched under directives from President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and will support development and water management projects across the Nile Basin, the Irrigation Minister, Hani Sweilem, said in a ministry statement.
Egypt, Sweilem added, has already implemented cooperation projects worth more than $115 million in countries of the Southern Nile Basin.
These projects included the construction of solar-powered groundwater wells, underground reservoirs, river ports and flood forecasting centres, according to the statement.
The projects also include dredging waterways, removing aquatic weeds, establishing water quality analysis centres and providing technical training and scholarships for African specialists in water management and climate adaptation.
Sweilem made the remarks during a meeting with officials from the the ministry's Nile Water Affairs Sector to review ongoing bilateral cooperation projects with several African countries, including Uganda and Kenya.
In Uganda, Egypt is continuing work on the sixth phase of an aquatic weed control project launched in 2023.
Cairo and Kampala also signed a memorandum of understanding during Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s visit to Egypt in August 2025, covering integrated water resources management projects worth $6 million.
The agreement includes drilling and rehabilitating groundwater wells, constructing underground reservoirs and training staff at Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment, the ministry said.
Egypt is also discussing new water-related development projects with Kenya aimed at supporting sustainable development and strengthening bilateral ties, according to the statement.
Egypt has repeatedly called for greater cooperation among Nile Basin countries while rejecting what it describes as unilateral measures affecting shared water resources, particularly Ethiopia’s actions regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Cairo has long pushed for a legally binding agreement with Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the massive hydropower project on the Blue Nile, which has been of concern to downstream nations Egypt and Sudan.
Egypt, which relies on the Nile for about 97 percent of its freshwater needs, has repeatedly accused Ethiopia of proceeding with dam-related measures without a comprehensive agreement involving downstream countries Sudan and Egypt.
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