Egypt on Wednesday formally handed over the chairmanship of the 5th Islamic Conference of Ministers Responsible for Water in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Member States to Saudi Arabia, during a high-level session held in Jeddah with the participation of water ministers from the OIC member states. The session announced the formation of the conference bureau, chaired by Saudi Arabia, with Egypt as rapporteur, Turkey as vice-chair for the Asian group, Gabon for the African group, and Palestine for the Arab group. In his address, Hani Sewilam, Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia for hosting the event and congratulated Engineer Abdulrahman Al-Fadley on assuming the presidency. Sewilam reaffirmed Egypt's full support for Saudi Arabia's preparations to host the 11th World Water Forum, describing it as a vital platform for strengthening Islamic solidarity and cooperation to achieve water security. He reviewed Egypt's achievements during its chairmanship of the previous conference in 2018 in Cairo, which brought together representatives from more than 30 countries and resulted in the adoption of the OIC Water Vision Implementation Plan. The plan focused on infrastructure development, scientific research, capacity building, and enhanced cooperation in transboundary water management. Sewilam also highlighted the outcomes of the second OIC water ministers' meeting, hosted by Egypt in 2019, which produced recommendations on youth training programmes, partnerships with financial institutions, and the establishment of data-sharing platforms. Emphasising the importance of investing in human capital, the minister pointed to Egypt's experience in capacity building through the Egyptian Water Resources Training Center, which has trained specialists from several OIC countries. He stressed that water challenges are no longer local but global and interconnected, noting that OIC countries represent nearly 24% of the world's population yet possess only 13.3% of global renewable water resources, according to the 2017 OIC Water Report. This imbalance, he said, underscores the urgent need for unified policies to ensure water and food security. Sewilam called for stronger cross-border cooperation in managing shared river basins, guided by the principles of equitable and reasonable use, prior consultation, and information sharing. "Water should be a means of peace and cooperation, not conflict," he said. Concluding his remarks, the minister reaffirmed Palestine's right to its water resources, condemning Israel's use of water as a weapon of war in Gaza, which has deprived residents of safe drinking water and exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
