Irrigation Minister Hossam Moghazy will head on Tuesday to Sudan, in his first official visit outside Egypt since he took charge of the ministry. The visit aims to boost bilateral relations in the field of water resources.
Official sources from the ministry said the visit will be within series of other visits by the minister to Nile Basin countries to tackle fields of bilateral cooperation as well as controversial issues.
In press remarks, the minister said he will meet Moataz Moussa, Sudanese minister of electricity and water resources to mull main issues like enforcing activities of the permanent joint technical authority of Nile Water, which is in charge of all activities of bilateral technical cooperation in the water resources field.
Meetings will tackle coordination between Egypt and Sudan as well as the current stance of Entebbe framework agreement, after Egypt froze its activities in the Nile Basin Initiative, when six Nile Basin countries signed the agreement.
The minister is scheduled to visit the central department of Egypt’s irrigation in Sudan. He will meet Egyptian and Sudanese workers to hear about their main problems.
In related news, sources said President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s visit to Sudan last week will have impact on meetings of the Nile Water Authority at which Egyptian and Sudanese irrigation ministers will take part. It will also change the Sudanese stance toward some issues including mechanisms of resolving controversial issues as well as the Entebbe agreement, which Egypt and Sudan reject for ignoring their historical water rights.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
