Recognising the critical need to enhance institutional coordination and policy coherence between the water and agriculture sectors, the Joint Technical Secretariat—comprising the Technical Secretariat of the Arab Ministerial Water Council and the Arab Organisation for Agricultural Development—is organising the third joint ministerial meeting of Arab Ministers of Water and Agriculture on 15 October. The meeting is hosted by the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It was preceded by the seventh meeting of the High-Level Joint Committee for the Agriculture and Water Sectors on 14 October, held on the sidelines of the 8th Cairo Water Week.
The meeting was opened by His Excellency Ambassador Dr. Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Maliki, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Economic Affairs Sector, who welcomed the participating ministers and delegations. In his address, he underscored the importance of policy coordination between the water and agriculture sectors, increasing investments, ensuring the sustainable use of resources, and enhancing intersectoral governance.
The third joint ministerial meeting marks a pivotal milestone in reviewing progress on the implementation of the Cairo Declaration and its Action Plan, adopted at the first joint ministerial meeting in 2019. The Declaration calls for alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, ensuring the integration of Arab water and food security issues into sustainable development strategies.
The meeting provides an opportunity for ministers to review achievements to date and address the challenges facing efforts to strengthen institutional coordination and policy coherence at the national and regional levels. By consolidating lessons learned and renewing joint commitments, the meeting seeks to accelerate intersectoral coordination, enhance cooperation, and reinvigorate momentum towards addressing the pressing challenges of water and food security in the Arab region.