Mr. Hani Sewilam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, attended the celebration held by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in collaboration with the European Union delegation in Egypt to celebrate World Water Day for 2025, which this year is themed “Preserving Glaciers.” The event was attended by Mr. Adnan Fengeri, Minister of Justice, Dr. Osama Al-Azhari, Minister of Awqaf, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, Mr. Mahmoud Fawzi, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Political Communication, Ms. Angelina Eichhorst, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt, Dr. Sid Ismail, Deputy Minister of Housing, Major General Tarek El-Washahi, Director of Water Management at the Armed Forces, Major General Essam Galal, Chairman of the National Contracting Company, Major General Khaled Salah, Representative of the Future of Egypt for Sustainable Development Authority, Dr. Hussein Amin, Director of the Kamal Adham Centre for Television and Digital Journalism and Professor of Media at the American University in Cairo, and media figures Mr. Rami Radwan, Mr. Osama Munir, Ms. Nashwa Al-Houfi, Ms. Naglaa El-Sharshabi, and Mr. Sherif Fouad.

During the celebration, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Awqaf regarding the provision of educational material for mosque imams to raise citizens' awareness, joint training courses for imams at major mosques, and including water and climate issues in Friday sermons and programmes organised by the Ministry of Awqaf. 

Another cooperation protocol was signed between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Education and Technical Education to collaborate on organising awareness seminars, harmonising media messages directed at citizens, organising educational school trips to irrigation museums and facilities, and showcasing educational films produced by the Ministry of Irrigation on the Madrasetna channel and during the awareness seminars organised by the Ministry of Education, as well as collaboration in organising a competition for school students.

During the celebration, a video was presented showcasing the history of irrigation in Egypt from the era of the ancient Egyptians through the modern renaissance of Egypt during the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha, who is considered the architect of the great renaissance that witnessed the first development of the irrigation system, known as the first generation of the irrigation system, followed by a review of current challenges, the most important of which is population growth, necessitating the development of the irrigation system, referred to as the second generation of the irrigation system 2.0.

In his opening speech, Minister Hani Sewilam extended greetings to the European Union for its ongoing and constructive cooperation with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in the field of water, pointing out that today we celebrate World Water Day to reaffirm our collective commitment to preserving and protecting water from pollution.

Dr. Sewilam presented a presentation outlining the main features and axes of the second generation of the irrigation system in Egypt 2.0, where he reviewed the current water situation, noting that Egypt's water needs amount to approximately 114 billion cubic metres annually, while Egypt's water resources are estimated at around 60 billion cubic metres annually, with the reuse of approximately 21 billion cubic metres annually, and the import of agricultural crops from abroad corresponding to a water consumption estimated at about 33.50 billion cubic metres annually.

The per capita share of water has declined to about 500 cubic metres annually at present, which has prompted the ministry to implement several major projects and policies and procedures that fall under the umbrella of the second generation of the Egyptian irrigation system 2.0. This generation relies on modern technology and scientific research to maximise the benefit from our water resources, while developing the capacities of those managing the water system and increasing awareness among citizens about water issues. The second generation of the irrigation system relies on nine main axes as follows:

The first axis is water treatment and desalination for intensive food production, where the Egyptian state has expanded the reuse and treatment of agricultural drainage water by implementing three major projects (New Delta, Bahr Al-Baqar, and Al-Mahsameh) to reuse agricultural drainage water at a capacity of up to 4.80 billion cubic metres annually. It has also become essential to turn to desalination for intensive food production as one of the future solutions to address water and food challenges, while enhancing the use of the three elements (sun, saline water, and sandy land).

The second axis is digital transformation, which aims to fill the gap in human resources within the ministry, achieve transparency, combat corruption, and provide data for decision-makers. This digital transformation includes digitising data on canals, drains, and water facilities, preparing databases for canals, drains, and water facilities, and creating applications for farmers to learn about the timings of water rotations, using drone photography to monitor watercourses and crop layouts. So far, a total of 27 diverse applications have been designed by the ministry's main information centre.

The third axis is smart management through rainfall prediction models, calculating agricultural crop areas using satellite images, monitoring groundwater wells, relying on drone photography to monitor elements of the water system, using canal network models to improve operational and planning processes, relying on machine learning programmes to estimate water levels, and using the Digital Earth Africa platform to monitor the protection of Egypt's coastlines. A project to "Update Water Resources for Agriculture in Egypt" is currently being implemented in collaboration with Spain.

The fourth axis involves rehabilitating water facilities and canals, with 7,800 kilometres of canals rehabilitated to date, along with studying the use of environmentally friendly materials in the rehabilitation of canals, developing the monitoring and operation system at the High Dam, starting the project to rehabilitate and replace water facilities, and implementing projects for the replacement, rehabilitation, and maintenance of major water facilities such as the Deirout Barrages, and implementing end outlets for canals.

The fifth axis is adapting to climate change through the implementation of many major projects to protect Egyptian coastlines in Alexandria, Damietta, Matrouh, and the Rashid Wall, among other locations that are protected using traditional methods. The project "Enhancing Adaptation to Climate Change in the North Coast and Nile Delta" is being implemented using environmentally friendly natural materials, along with the implementation of 1,631 facilities to protect against flood risks in various flood-prone governorates (North and South Sinai, Red Sea, Matrouh, Upper Egypt), in addition to expanding reliance on solar energy as an alternative to diesel in pumping water, which reflects on reducing carbon emissions.

Governance represents the sixth axis, which aims to expand the formation of water user associations, which currently total 6,474 associations, with the election of 188 association secretaries at the centre level and 22 association secretaries at the governorate level, leading to the election of a board of directors for the federation of associations at the national level. The ministry's agencies are also documenting successful and distinguished practices by farmers and disseminating them to encourage more farmers to replicate these successful models.

The seventh axis involves developing human resources and addressing existing gaps in certain positions, especially among engineers and technicians, training, and building the capacities of ministry workers, providing training courses in innovative and creative fields, such as benefiting from dried water hyacinth using environmentally friendly methods in manufacturing handicraft products.

The eighth axis is awareness, whether through water guidance departments that communicate with farmers, or through the media and various social media platforms, and launching an awareness campaign titled "On the Level" to educate citizens on the importance of water conservation and preservation, or through awareness seminars that rely on innovative methods of explanation suitable for different age groups.

External work comes as the ninth axis within the second generation of the irrigation system 2.0, where Egypt has led a successful course of action to elevate the status of water and place it at the top of the global climate agenda, whether through Cairo Water Weeks, climate conferences, the United Nations Water Conference, or the 10th World Water Forum, in addition to Egypt's notable efforts to serve the African continent during its presidency of the African Ministers' Council on Water (AMCOW), along with Egypt launching the AWARe initiative, which aims to serve African countries in the field of water and climate change adaptation.

In his speech, Dr. Osama Al-Azhari, Minister of Awqaf, pointed out that Islam commands us to preserve water resources from all forms of pollution and waste, even if the use is for worship purposes, affirming that the world recognises the importance of preserving water, to the extent that it has designated March 22 of each year to raise awareness of the importance of water. He added that humanity has entered an era of water scarcity, which calls us all to collaborate on righteousness and compassion, to halt global warming, manage water resources wisely, and encourage scientific research efforts to explore new, cost-effective technologies for water desalination, rainwater harvesting, and the proper exploitation of groundwater.

In his remarks, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Latif, Minister of Education and Technical Education, expressed his deep appreciation to the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the European Union delegation in Egypt for organising this important event and for their steadfast commitment to water security and enhancing climate resilience, emphasising that education is the most powerful tool to tackle water challenges, as it contributes to shaping students' awareness of the importance of natural resources and encourages them to adopt responsible behaviours that contribute to their protection.

He noted that the Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, is working to comprehensively integrate water and climate education into the national curricula, aiming to equip students with knowledge and the ability to innovate, adapt, and lead in this field.

Ms. Angelina Eichhorst, Head of the European Union Delegation to Egypt, highlighted the strong partnership between Egypt and the European Union in water management, and the serious joint efforts to enhance innovative solutions that protect our water resources for future generations, stressing the commitment to continue this cooperation in the future to address water issues.