Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel-Ati asserted the importance of maximising the levels of cooperation between Egypt and Iraq to achieve the objectives of sustainable development for the peoples of the two countries and stand against mutual challenges.

The minister's remarks were made during his meeting with Irrigation Ministry Undersecretary Ragab Abdel-Azim and members of an Egyptian delegation that paid a visit to Iraq earlier in August.

He said the delegation's visit to Iraq was an outcome of the first meeting of the Egyptian-Iraqi Advisory Technical Committee on Water Resources and Irrigation, which convened in June.

The delegation visited the Iraqi Underground Water Authority and the sites of water management projects in various Iraqi governorates.

Abdel-Ati explained that the visit aimed to discuss all possible opportunities for improving cooperation in the field of water management, as the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation spheres in October.