Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Swelem, met with his Tunisian counterpart, Abdel Monim Belati, Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries on Tuesday.
The meeting took place as a sideline of the fifth session of the „Mediterranean Water Forum” held in Tunis.
Under the MoU signed in 2015, the two ministers explored ways to enhance cooperation and exchange experiences between the two countries in various technological fields of water treatment and reuse and adaptation to climate change.
They also discussed the integrated vision being prepared for the „Mediterranean Water Forum” to be presented at the „Tenth World Water Forum” to be held in Indonesia in May 2024.
Sweilem highlighted achievements in support of the AWARe initiative, which aims to help developing countries, especially African countries, adapt to climate change. He said that so far 24 countries have joined this initiative and a secretariat has been established in Geneva to continue its activities.
He also noted that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has prepared a concept paper for the Water-Energy-Food Nexus regional projects funded by the Green Climate Fund.
He added that UNESCO has initiated a series of workshops on WEF Nexus projects, the first of which was inaugurated at the Ministry's Regional Training Centre. He said the ministry has coordinated with the World Meteorological Organization to implement the early warning system.
Zweilem invited the Tunisian side to benefit from the „African Center for Training and Capacity Development in the Field of Adaptation to Climate Change” established under the AWARe initiative.