Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hani Suwelim, attended the signing ceremony of the "Building Climate Leadership Excellence for African Resilience" (BCLEAR) program. This initiative is a collaboration between the Nile Water Affairs Sector of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the American University in Cairo. The program aims to enhance cooperation within the African continent, particularly among Nile Basin countries, through capacity building and knowledge sharing.
Minister Suwelim emphasized that Egypt views its relationships with African countries, especially those in the Nile Basin, as part of a larger African family. He noted that these countries face similar challenges in areas such as water management, climate change, food security, and development. Therefore, increased cooperation, exchange of experiences, and successful practices are necessary to address these challenges.
The minister highlighted that Nile Basin countries possess diverse experiences that can be built upon and shared to enhance technical cooperation. This cooperation aims to transform relationships between basin countries into practical partnerships that directly benefit national cadres and institutions. The BCLEAR program serves as a practical model for this approach, focusing on capacity building and exchanging expertise among African cadres and institutions.
The BCLEAR program includes four training sessions for trainers, with some hosted in Egypt and others in Uganda and Rwanda. These sessions focus on climate-smart agriculture, sustainable water resources management, and the interconnection between water, energy, food, and ecosystems. The program targets preparing a sustainable network of African trainers and experts capable of sharing their acquired knowledge and experiences with their national institutions.
The implementation of the BCLEAR program aligns with Egypt's current presidency of the African Water Facility (AWF). Minister Suwelim stressed Egypt's commitment to supporting African cooperation, capacity building, and knowledge sharing during its presidency. This effort is parallel to Egypt's close and extended relationships with Nile Basin countries.
Minister Suwelim concluded by affirming Egypt's continued collaboration with its African counterparts, particularly within the Nile Basin family. He emphasized that addressing common challenges requires increased cooperation, exchanging experiences and knowledge, and joint action. The BCLEAR program exemplifies this approach, based on partnership, mutual learning, and building African capacities.
The American University in Cairo will play a significant role in the program, contributing its academic, training, and research capabilities. This partnership complements the technical expertise and institutional capacity of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and specialized institutions in participating countries.
Key points
- The program aims to enhance cooperation within the African continent, particularly among Nile Basin countries, through capacity building and knowledge sharing.
- The BCLEAR program includes four training sessions for trainers, focusing on climate-smart agriculture, sustainable water resources management, and the interconnection between water, energy, food, and ecosystems.
- Egypt's presidency of the African Water Facility (AWF) supports the program's goals of promoting African cooperation, capacity building, and knowledge sharing.
