Minister of Foreign Affairs participates in a high-level event on water

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration and Egyptian Expatriates, Dr. Badr Abdelatty, participated on September 25, 2024, in a high-level event on water, on the sidelines of the high-level segment meetings of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Dr. Abdelatty delivered a speech in which he indicated that more than 70% of climate risks are linked to water, noting that this poses a grave threat to food security, water security and livelihoods, causing loss and damage, citing World Bank reports indicating that water scarcity in the Middle East and North Africa region alone may cause losses of up to 14 percent of the region’s GDP by 2050, which necessitates further efforts to achieve all goals and targets of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including enhancing international cooperation in transboundary water management, to ensure that water is a catalyst for peace and cooperation instead of conflict and unilateral actions.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs also affirmed that Egypt spared no effort to promote the water agenda, including by calling for the inclusion of fresh water – for the first time ever – in the historic decision taken by the Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Conference COP27. Egypt also assumed, with Japan, the co-chairmanship of the interactive dialogue on water and climate at the UN 2023 Water Conference, and led, along with Germany, the international action that culminated in the creation of the post of the UN Special Envoy for Water.