A discussion session on the international responsibility in achieving sustainable water security

During the activities of the second day of the fourth edition of the Forum, in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, a number of young people participated in a discussion session entitled “International Responsibility in Achieving Sustainable Water Security”, and the session revolved around many challenges and conflicts facing the water and work crisis On achieving water security, the dialogue was practically exchanged between all the speakers in the session.
Dr. spoke Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, began his speech by specifying that the most important challenges facing the planet are climate changes, because it causes damage to crops; It has become a problem facing even the most developed countries.
He continued his speech, saying, “The abundance of water is destruction and less is death,” that the conflicts for water were directly or indirectly one of the causes of wars, such as the conflicts created by terrorist organizations. He also added that the population growth crisis is one of the major challenges in the water crisis and exacerbates changes He added that the problem of water shortage and floods has caused internal and external migration, and it is necessary to work on the availability of early warning systems to reduce the negative effects of climate change and work to change the pattern of water consumption and use the latest systems for desalination and provision of water permanently, concluding his speech by reviewing the efforts of the Egyptian state Recently, the projects of lining canals and using modern systems in agriculture and irrigation according to the latest technology systems that are consistent with the goals of sustainable development.
Eva Baziba, Deputy Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Minister of Environment, began her speech by thanking President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of the Republic, for providing the opportunity for youth participation, meeting and dialogue to improve conditions and solve problems at the global and regional levels, and urged coordination of efforts to benefit from all resources. emphasizing that the Republic of Congo has participated in the climate conference, and that they are ready to attend the preparatory meetings for this conference, which will be held in Egypt this year.
She added that the state of Congo possesses a high percentage of the fresh water reserves of the Nile River in Africa, and it also owns large areas of forests that need water, which are irrigated by rain, but it needs readiness and modern technology to manage those resources properly to achieve integration and make maximum use of those resources in order to bring benefit and good, on Egypt, Congo and the rest of the African countries, stressing the importance of youth awareness of water issues in order to preserve water resources. For his part, Praveen Agarwal, the resident representative of the World Food Program in Egypt, stressed that water security and food security are highly intertwined, adding that there are 11 million people around the year who suffer from not getting their daily food, and that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact. Catastrophic in all areas, especially ensuring the continuation of food security.
Dr. Hani Swailem, Academic Director of Hydrological Studies and Director of the UNESCO Chair for Hydrological Changes, said that Egypt suffers from a problem of water poverty and an increase in population, and that water desalination is the great hope for countries that suffer from water poverty.
Dr. Hisham Al-Askari, Professor of Remote Sensing and Earth Systems Sciences at Schmid College of Science at Chapman University, explained that the rise in temperature is the worst scenario ever that occurs and we must be more prepared with the latest modern technological systems to deal with the crisis in accordance with the sustainable development goals.
The session was concluded with a number of recommendations, including the importance of localizing water desalination technology in Egypt and all countries that suffer from water poverty, producing water and food with inexpensive energy, and integration and cooperation between the Nile Basin countries to reduce poverty and enhance needs in the wave of water poverty.