This was stated during his speech at the summit conference, where he called for comprehensive and fair solutions to food and water security issues, extending to include developing countries and those affected by global crises, not just the G20 countries, according to Egypt’s Al-Watan newspaper. He emphasized that the success of any solutions requires comprehensive reforms of the global financial and trade system, bridging funding gaps in infrastructure, and addressing climate change as a major factor affecting these efforts.
He stressed the importance of utilizing technology and artificial intelligence to increase agricultural productivity, especially in countries suffering from resource scarcity or climate challenges.
Dr. Nader Nour El-Din, a professor of water resources at Cairo University, stated in an interview with ‘Sputnik’ last month that Egypt faces a significant challenge of water scarcity, with the current per capita share at about 600 cubic meters annually, which is much less than the global minimum of 1,000 cubic meters per person, known as the ‘water scarcity threshold.’ He pointed out that Egypt has already begun taking serious steps to address this shortage, including treating agricultural, industrial, and sanitary wastewater, successfully reusing about 21 billion cubic meters, which has helped raise the per capita share to 800 cubic meters annually.
Despite this improvement, he noted that the country is still below the water poverty line. Nour El-Din explained that the Egyptian state has planned to establish about 17 new desalination plants by 2030, which will be distributed along the Mediterranean coast due to population congestion in these areas, as well as along the Red Sea coast to serve tourist resorts.
