Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hany Sewilam, held a series of bilateral meetings with officials from Finland, Germany, and the Geneva Water Hub on the sidelines of a high-level preparatory meeting for the United Nations Water Conference in Senegal, the ministry said.
During talks with Finnish Water Envoy Antti Rautavaara, Sewilam praised the strong coordination between Egypt and Finland within the interactive dialogues of the UN Water Conference, commending Finland’s role in promoting trust-building and credible cooperation among states.
Both sides stressed the growing importance of international collaboration on water issues as climate change and increasing pressure on water resources intensify global challenges. They agreed that science-based dialogue and knowledge exchange remain essential pillars for sustainable water management and regional stability.
The discussions also underscored the need to respect the unique characteristics of different river basins and to strike a balance between national development requirements and international cooperation principles—particularly in addressing transboundary water challenges without compromising states’ rights or the interests of their peoples.
In a separate meeting with Mark Zeitoun, Director of the Geneva Water Hub, Sewilam highlighted ongoing cooperation in training and capacity-building for officials working on Nile water affairs. He said Egypt aims to expand this collaboration into a long-term institutional partnership, including training-of-trainers programmes and joint initiative development, in cooperation with the African Centre for Water and Climate Adaptation (PACWA), with the potential to extend across the African continent.
Sewilam also met Germany’s Deputy Environment Minister, where discussions focused on translating international water commitments into concrete implementation pathways. He called for these efforts to be supported by dedicated financing, technical assistance, effective monitoring tools, and enhanced transparency mechanisms.
The minister further stressed the importance of strengthening UN-Water’s monitoring role and expanding the mandate and resources of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Water. He also urged a comprehensive review of global progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation, to help inform and shape the post-2030 international water agenda.
