Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hani Sewilam reaffirmed Egypt's support for an open and inclusive discussion on the various options for strengthening the global water governance system. He said this includes exploring ways to reinforce the international institutional framework for water, improve coordination across United Nations entities, and enhance the role of member states in global water governance to promote greater coherence and effectiveness in international action.
The remarks were made during Sewilam's participation in a side event organized by Kazakhstan, attended by Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ehab Awad, on the sidelines of the ministerial segment of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable Development, currently underway at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Addressing the event, Sewilam commended ongoing efforts to advance international dialogue on enhancing cooperation in the water sector. He outlined Egypt's vision for strengthening global water governance through deeper international cooperation aimed at accelerating progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6), while adopting practical and effective mechanisms capable of securing broad consensus among UN member states.
The minister highlighted the 2026 UN Water Conference as a key implementation milestone in the global water agenda, providing an important platform for discussing the most effective approaches to advancing global water governance and laying the groundwork for any future institutional reforms, particularly within the framework of the interactive dialogue on water under multilateral processes.
Sewilam stressed that any institutional reform of the global water governance architecture should be pursued gradually and be guided by the outcomes of the 2026 UN Water Conference. He underscored the importance of building on existing international mechanisms and enhancing their effectiveness, while ensuring that any reforms enjoy broad intergovernmental consensus.
Such an approach, he said, would help establish a governance framework that is coherent, effective, accountable, and capable of delivering tangible results for countries facing mounting water challenges. The Inauguration of the State Strategic Command Headquarters “The Octagon” in the New Capital President Sisi inaugurates 'Octagon' Strategic Command headquarters in New Capital