CAIRO/ADDIS ABABA, Feb 16 (MENA) – Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, and Egyptian Expatriates Badr Abdelatty participated in a high-level side event titled “ensuring sustainable water and sanitation availability to achieve the goals of Africa Agenda 2063,” held on the sidelines of the African Summit, with the participation of several African ministers of water resources.
Abdelatty welcomed the adoption of the Africa Water Vision and Policy 2063, describing it as a comprehensive framework for promoting the sustainable management of water resources across the continent.
He underscored the importance of the principles it includes—particularly those related to the management and utilization of transboundary water resources—principles that Egypt has consistently advocated.
He noted that their endorsement at the African Summit elevates them to binding African commitments that no single state can disregard or claim exemption from.
The minister highlighted the core principles affirmed by the vision, foremost among them recognizing water as a fundamental human right rather than an economic commodity, rejecting the commodification of water or the treatment of shared water resources as unilateral sovereign assets.
He stressed that such approaches risk deepening inequalities and threatening both water and food security.
He further emphasized the imperative of international cooperation in managing shared water resources, the necessity of obtaining the consent of riparian states for projects on transboundary waterways, the rejection of unilateral measures, and strict adherence to international law—particularly the principles of cooperation, consensus and the obligation not to cause harm.
Abdelatty also noted that Egypt is among the world’s most water-scarce countries, relying almost entirely on the Nile River to meet its needs, amid mounting challenges including rapid population growth, urban expansion and the adverse impacts of climate change. (MENA)
