Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation, Professor Joseph Utsev, on Saturday met with his Egyptian counterpart- the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Republic of Egypt, Professor Hani Sewilan to continue talks on enhancing partnership between the two countries in the sector.
Nigeria and Egypt had in October 2024, during the 7th Cairo Water Week, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), to enhance cooperation in water resource management, focusing on irrigation infrastructure, flood management, and climate change adaptation.
Personal Assistant on media and publicity to the Minister, Terhemen Oraduen in a Facebook post said, Professor Utsev is currently in Cairo, the Egyptian capital where he held high-level talks with the officials on the progress of implementation of the earlier signed agreement.
Both Ministers last year agreed that the MoUs have the potential to boost food security and hydropower generation while addressing shared water challenges across Africa.
NewsQuest gathered that the partnership reflects the commitment of the two countries to sustainable water governance and improving the resilience of communities.
Nigeria and Egypt are expected to collaborate in the areas of operation and maintenance of irrigation infrastructure, aquatic and weed control using mechanical and biological methods, food management, and drought forecasting.
Other areas of possible partnership are water harvesting technologies, technical assistance in groundwater management, and monitoring of water quality, with a focus on bio-monitoring as well as improving integrated dam and reservoir management for effective operation.