Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Wednesday met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and a number of concerned ministers and officials to review the government's work programs in the agriculture and water sectors and discuss mechanisms for developing these sectors and enhancing their role in comprehensive development. The meeting, which was attended by Hani Sweilem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation; Alaa Farouk, Minister of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; and Colonel Bahaa El-Ghannam, Executive Director of the Future of Egypt for Sustainable Development Agency, focused on providing the necessary support for agricultural and water projects, including the New Delta Project and the projects of the "Future of Egypt" Agency. "The President emphasised the need to build on the progress achieved in the past years and achieve a boom in vertical and horizontal expansion in agricultural production," said Ahmed Fahmy, the official spokesperson for the Egyptian Presidency. The meeting discussed ways to ensure the comprehensive economic integration of these projects, through activating components such as manufacturing, distribution, marketing, export, and urban development. The discussion also touched on the government's efforts to provide agricultural land with water, particularly through intensifying the use of modern irrigation systems. Al-Sisi was also briefed on the ongoing efforts to develop research and enhance innovations in the fields of water and agriculture, benefit from relevant global experiences, and use the latest technologies to maximise productivity. "The agricultural sector represents a fundamental nerve for development efforts, whether in terms of providing local food needs, considering this within the determinants of national security, or maximising the benefit from exporting national agricultural products abroad," said Al-Sisi. "These projects will also create new job opportunities for citizens, which contributes to strengthening the national economy." The "Future of Egypt" agricultural project, which targets the reclamation of 1,050,000 feddans within the 2.2 million-feddan New Delta Project, is considered the first project under the initiative to achieve self-sufficiency and export surplus agricultural products.
