Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation and Chairman of the African Water Facility (AWF) Governing Council Hani Sewilam aarrived in Germany for a series of high-level meetings aimed at strengthening international partnerships supporting water security and sustainable development in Africa and mobilizing the resources, expertise and technologies needed to turn African water priorities into bankable, implementable projects.
The visit comes as part of Egypt’s presidency of the AWF Governing Council reflecting Egypt’s growing role in supporting water and development issues across Africa. AWF is among the continent’s key mechanisms for preparing bankable water projects and mobilizing the investments needed to implement them.
Since its establishment, it has approved 152 projects covering all 54 African countries and helped mobilize more than €1.9 billion in subsequent financing for project implementation. The facility is currently implementing its 2026–2030 strategy, which seeks to strengthen its role as a leading continental facility for preparing bankable water projects, stimulating investment and increasing private-sector participation.
The strategy is aligned with Africa’s Water Vision and Policy 2063 and aims to translate African priorities into projects, investments and tangible development outcomes on the ground. The minister is scheduled to meet German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Reem Alabali Radovan to discuss establishing a long-term strategic partnership.
The two sides will also discuss frameworks for multi-year German contributions to the AWF’s core resources, which would enhance its capacity to prepare more bankable water projects, in addition to expanding institutional cooperation. The cooperation would seek to connect well-prepared African projects with German financing, expertise, technologies and implementation capabilities.
The visit will also include a meeting with the German Water Partnership (GWP) to discuss establishing a structured cooperation channel linking AWF-prepared projects in African countries with German companies and research and technology institutions. The initiative would promote greater participation by the German private sector in water, sanitation, infrastructure and innovation projects across Africa.
As part of Egypt’s role in supporting African water security, Egypt’s experience in implementing the “Second Generation of Water Management 2.0” will be presented. The experience includes digital transformation and smart water management, asset management, water reuse, infrastructure modernization, and improved operation and maintenance efficiency.