Egypt’s irrigation minister heads to South Sudan to discuss “increasing” cooperation

CAIRO – Egypt’s Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty traveled to South Sudan on Tuesday in an official visit to discuss bolstering cooperation in the irrigation and water resources with his South Sudanese counterpart Manawa Peter Gatkuoth.

This is the first meeting between the two ministers since the South Sudanese minister assumed his post, the ministry said, adding that the talks will tackle bilateral cooperation projects in water resources and follow up on the work being executed in projects implemented by Egypt in South Sudan.

Abdel-Aty said the cooperation history between the two ministries began since a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in August 2006. He added that the two countries signed a technical cooperation protocol in March 2011 and another development and technical cooperation agreement in November 2014.

As per the 2014 agreement, the Egyptian irrigation ministry has been implementing several development projects in South Sudan, which include providing clean drinking water to citizens and establishing marinas to connect cities and villages to allow for easier transport of cargo and passengers.

Abdel-Aty is also set to inspect work at underground reservoirs in South Sudan’s Juba, the statement said.

The visit by the Egyptian minister is the latest in a series of visits by officials from Egypt in the past few months to provide support to South Sudan and discuss cooperation.