Cairo: Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam engaged in discussions with Dutch Water Envoy Meike van Ginneken on enhancing cooperation between Egypt and the Netherlands in the water sector. The discussions occurred during the high-level preparatory meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference, with Egyptian ambassador to Senegal Khaled Aref in attendance.

According to State Information Service Egypt, the two parties evaluated the progress of the "Modernizing Irrigation Techniques to Improve the Livelihoods of Smallholder Farmers in Upper Egypt" project. This initiative is a collaboration with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and is funded by the Dutch government. The discussions also included activating a memorandum of understanding with Dutch organization Invest International for a feasibility study aimed at identifying hotspots on Egypt's Mediterranean coast for protection using environmentally friendly sand nourishment techniques.

Further topics of discussion included the second phase of the Egypt-Netherlands Joint Cooperation for Applied Research (JCAR II) program and the status of a study on the intensive reuse of water resources. The Netherlands expressed willingness to collaborate with Egypt during the third interactive water dialogue, co-chaired by Egypt and Japan. Sewilam emphasized the significance of ongoing coordination between Egypt and the Netherlands in international forums to support global water and climate issues.