Opening Remarks: NWFE - A Year of Implementation
NWFE High-Level Event
A Year of Implementation
Cairo, 19 November 2023
Contribution by
Ambassador Christian Berger,
Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt
Dear Prime Minister, Ministers, colleagues, partners, and friends of NWFE,
If we want to withstand current and future pressures, we must ensure the integrated and sustainable management of water, food and energy to balance the needs of people, nature and the economy.
An increasing world population, climate change and water scarcity are long-term risks that we need to address through enhanced cooperation.
We have seen it clearly during COP27, congratulations again to Egypt for hosting it, climate change needs more than ever joint action by advanced and developing countries. We cannot expect to move on mitigation and adaptation issues if we do not work together.
Food security and energy supply are interdependent, particularly for regions close to each other such as Europe and North Africa.
Egypt has been impacted severely by the recent crises. But allow me to commend the extraordinary efforts made by the government and highlight the response and the resilience shown by the country and its people.
The NWFE initiative is an example of how ambitious reform and investment can be achieved. It is great to see how the international community and many European financial institutions have embraced it.
In the energy sector, the EU pledged a €35 million grant during COP27. Work is ongoing to support grid reinforcement via the establishment of control centres.
This support comes in a wider context of the ever increasing EU-Egypt partnership in energy, with two Memoranda of Understanding signed last year, for which the EU is putting additional funds to implement the Egyptian hydrogen strategy and unlock the full potential of Egypt’s renewable energy production.
When it comes to the water and food pillars, with the EIB, we are leading the project on “Adaptation of Northern Delta affected by Sea Level Rise (SLR)”, which is at the stage of pre-feasibility study.
This support goes hand-in-hand with other projects in the agricultural sector, that will integrate and leverage NWFE. More than 200.000 families will benefit from an integrated rural development programme that will be launched this year in line with Haya Karima, and for which €30 million in grants have been provided.
Through the Food and Resilience Facility, €100 million in grants will increase Egypt’s storage capacities for imported and locally produced cereals, provide support to small farmers through a programme of enhanced mechanisation, and develop new varieties of seeds more resistant to draught and salinity.
In the water sector, the EU and Egypt have a long history of cooperation. We come from a very successful Cairo Water Week, and we are working hard to prepare a Joint Declaration on Water, with the objective to support Egypt’s water security through the sustainable management of limited water resources.
In difficult times, we must face our short-term challenges and prepare for the more long-term ones. Energy, agriculture and food are key examples of how the concept of sustainability, that is benefitting today from the natural capital without hampering future generations, can successfully be put into practice.
Let me finally recall the Team Europe Initiative for Integrated Water and Food Security. It that has been created to address agricultural challenges, such as land productivity and scarcity, while adapting to climate change, improving environmental protection, and strengthening rural communities. Among the initiative's key objectives is to promote knowledge exchanges, by sharing lessons learned and experiences amongst the EU Member States and Egypt. This Team Europe Initiative will also fully support NWFE.
We are deeply convinced that the green transition towards sustainability, understood as a long-term project, can be achieved through firm and consistent steps. It constitutes one of the key answers to the global and geopolitical uncertainties we are facing today.
NWFE can serve as a model to be followed in other regions.
Mr Prime Minister, allow me to extend our congratulations to Minster Mashat and her great team on the first year of implementation!
Thank you