Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the American University in Cairo (AUC) have signed an agreement to train African professionals in water management, climate-smart agriculture, and the water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus through four training-of-trainers programmes to be held in Egypt and other Nile Basin countries.
Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam witnessed the signing of an agreement between the ministry’s Nile Water Affairs Sector and AUC to implement the Building Climate Leadership Excellence for African Resilience (BCLEAR) programme.
The initiative is designed to create a network of African trainers and specialists who can transfer the knowledge and skills acquired through the programme to their national institutions, expanding the reach of capacity-building activities across the continent, with a particular focus on Nile Basin countries.
BCLEAR will include four training-of-trainers programmes, some of which will be hosted in Egypt with participants from African countries, while others will be held in Uganda and Rwanda in cooperation with specialised research and technical institutions.
Training will cover climate-smart agriculture, sustainable water resources management, crop and water management, and integrated resource planning.
The programme will also focus on the water-energy-food-ecosystems (WEFE) nexus, an approach that examines the links between the management of water, energy, food production, and ecosystems rather than treating each sector separately.
Sewilam said African countries face common challenges involving water, climate change, food security, and development, making knowledge exchange and institutional capacity building important areas for greater cooperation.
He said Nile Basin countries have accumulated different experiences in dealing with these challenges and that sharing this expertise could help turn regional cooperation into practical partnerships benefiting national institutions and professionals.
AUC will contribute its academic, research, and training capabilities, working alongside the technical and institutional expertise of Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and specialised organisations in participating countries.
According to the ministry, the partnership is intended to ensure that training is connected to the specific needs of participating countries while promoting mutual learning among African institutions.
The programme is also being launched while Egypt holds the current presidency of the African Water Facility (AWF). Cairo says it intends to use its presidency to support African cooperation, capacity building, and knowledge exchange alongside its broader engagement with Nile Basin countries.
Egypt has increasingly used training and technical cooperation as part of its water diplomacy in Africa, alongside participation in regional initiatives focused on climate adaptation, water management, and institutional capacity building.
The ministry’s statement did not disclose the programme’s budget, implementation period, or the number of African participants expected to take part in the four training programmes.
