Dr. Rania Al-Mashat: Water is an essential element for enhancing economic development efforts and maintaining sustainable growth
Egypt implements long-term strategy to diversify water sources to meet domestic demand
Our international partnerships enhance the government's efforts in the sustainable management of water resources.
Partnership with the European Investment Bank (EIB) includes €200 million in grants from the EU to support the water sector in Egypt.
H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development and International Cooperation, delivered a speech at the 1st regional conference of the European Investment Bank (EIB), held in Cyprus under the title “Water Challenges in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region: Sustainability and Resilience”, which aims to highlight the pressing water challenges facing the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, and bring together experts, policymakers and stakeholders to promote joint solutions.
The conference is attended by H.E. Nikos Christodoulides, President of the Republic of Cyprus, Mr. Kyriacos Kakouris, Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Mary Beth Goodman, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD, and other representatives of international institutions, governments and development partners.
In her speech via video, H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat explained that the Mediterranean region today faces severe water challenges as a result of climate change, population growth, and rising demand. Water scarcity also threatens food security, energy, and economic stability. To address this situation, strengthening regional cooperation and building partnerships with financial institutions and the private sector is necessary to stimulate the financing needed to develop sustainable water infrastructure that ensures long term resilience and resource security.
The Minister added that in Egypt, water is a vital component of our economy, supporting key sectors such as agriculture, energy, industry and manufacturing. In light of the current high demand, additional resources are required. Egypt has adopted a comprehensive strategy until 2037 to address water scarcity, in addition to a national strategy for drinking water and sanitation, which focuses on improving water quality, expanding resources, reducing consumption and promoting sustainable development. This sector intersects with many national development projects. Pointing to the presidential initiative "Decent Life", which contributed to increasing the rate of access to water and sanitation services for the residents of the Egyptian rural, and contributed to increasing the rate of access to sanitation services in participating villages by 45% between 2021 and 2024.
Al-Mashat noted that the ministry’s new framework following the merger of the Ministries of Planning and Economic Development and International Cooperation, puts sustainable economic growth at the center by formulating data-driven and evidence-based economic development policy; building a future-resilient economy that advances macro-economic stability; and optimizing resource allocation through an integrated financing framework. This is made possible through multi-stakeholder engagement, including national coordination and international cooperation.
Furthermore, Al-Mashat highlighted the launch of the country platform for the “NWFE ” program, which focuses on the link between water, food and energy projects, during the COP27 climate conference to accelerate the national climate agenda in Egypt, through tangible and implementable projects, this program transforms Egypt’s National Climate Change Strategy 2050 from commitments to actual implementation, through various mitigation and adaptation projects.
H.E. pointed out that Egypt hosted Cairo Water Week, during which the Team Europe Initiative in Water, Agriculture, and Rural Development was launched; a milestone in our collaboration with Team Europe that falls under the NWFE umbrella, focused on water and food security.
Moreover, H.E. noted that while progress is ongoing, the EMDCs face challenges due to financing gaps. Throughout H.E.’s participation in the World Bank Annual Meetings in Washington, the Hamburg Sustainability Conference in Germany, and the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the global stage echoes one common call: the need for a new global financial architecture to help EMDCs meet their development goals without facing debt burdens and limited access to equitable finance. Tapping into this will not only help the water sector, but also agriculture, food security, investing in human capital, jobs and growth, among many other areas too.
The EIB stands as one of Egypt’s largest multilateral development partners and the lead MDB financing the private sector. Since 1989, the EIB has contributed over 1.2 billion euros to critical water infrastructure in Egypt, making Egypt the largest beneficiary of EIB water financing in Africa.
The current portfolio features several ongoing water projects, including the Sea Level Rise in Delta project under NWFE and the Sludge Management initiative.
It is worth noting that the European Investment Bank’s current portfolio in Egypt includes financing of more than EUR 200 million from grant financing provided by the European Commission, in addition to concessional funding from the EIB and technical assistance grants. Egypt is the largest country of operations for the European Investment Bank (EIB) outside Europe, and the largest beneficiary of the European Investment Bank’s financing for water in Africa.
The EIB in cooperation with the Ministries of Housing, Irrigation and Agriculture in Egypt, is implementing three initiatives: Sludge Management Solutions by opening up investment to address challenges in managing sludge resulting from wastewater treatment and benefiting from its potential as a fertilizer in agriculture; Coastal Protection Initiative by protecting coastal resources from risks posed by rising sea levels; and Irrigation Adaptation Initiative by adapting irrigation systems in Egypt to climate change and improving water use efficiency.