Ahmed Salem
A unique gesture was witnessed at an official meeting held by the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr. Hani Sweilem, yesterday, Monday, as he appeared wearing the red shirt of the Egyptian national team, expressing his happiness at the Pharaohs’ victory in their second match in the 2026 World Cup.
The minister's appearance in the national jersey was in celebration of the Egyptian national football team's 3-1 victory over New Zealand in their second group stage match, which earned the team three important points that boosted their chances of qualifying for the next round.
Following the match, Sweilem commented via his Facebook account, saying: “Everyone goes to work happy… no sleep.”.
Irrigation is exploring expanding intensive water reuse.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation reviewed its strategic vision for expanding intensive water reuse, as one of the main pillars of the Water Resources Strategy 2050, and the second generation methodology for the Water System 2.0.
The proposed project aims to convert moderately saline agricultural drainage water into a sustainable source of irrigation water, without drawing any additional quantities of water from the Nile River, as part of innovative solutions to address water challenges.
The ministry explained that the project is the result of years of technical studies, including the preparation of an exploratory study in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the AWARe initiative and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), in addition to an integrated feasibility study in cooperation with the Center for Applied Research on Environment and Sustainability at the American University in Cairo.
Enhancing engagement with the private sector
The minister stressed the ministry's keenness to strengthen partnerships with the private sector and development partners to implement projects that support the efficiency of water resource management and contribute to achieving sustainable development goals.
In the same context, the ministry indicated that cooperation with Coca-Cola in the agricultural wastewater desalination project comes within the community role of the private sector, to support the state’s efforts in rationalizing water consumption and recycling it.
