30 July - 5 August 2012 - orsam

Qandil, who previously served as minister of irrigation and water resources, has also handpicked
Mohamed Bahaaeddine Saad for the ministry of irrigation and water resources.
Saad will be charged with implementing the national water and irrigation strategy as his first priority.
The $24 billion USD plan aims to improve water resources management and water security through
2017.
Qandil‘s appointment to head up the government, and the establishment of the two new ministries
demonstrates Egypt‘s increasing awareness of the magnitude of the water problems the country faces.
Egypt has been involved in an ongoing dispute with other Nile Basin countries over its historical
rights to Nile water -- around 55.5 billion cubic meters a year. Six out of the 10 Nile Basin countries
unilaterally signed a legal framework agreement for water-sharing in Entebbe, Uganda in 2010;
Egypt and Sudan oppose the framework.
The government hopes Qandil, who has been involved in negotiations with upstream Nile countries
over the past few years, will be in a better position to deal with the issue in his new capacity as prime
minister.
Qandil already arranged newly elected Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi‘s first visit to Ethiopia
last week. It was the first visit to the upstream Nile Basin country by an Egyptian president since
1995.
Sources said that the former water minister‘s expertise with Nile issues played a big part in his being
selected to head the government.
Qandil was part of the Nile Basin Initiative, launched in 1999 so member states could develop the
river in a cooperative manner.
―Egypt PM Creates New Utility, Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministries‖, 03/08/2012, online at: http://www.ooskanews.com/dailywater-briefing/egypt-pm-creates-new-utility-drinking-water-and-sanitation-ministries_23702
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