From Partnership to Progress: Advancing Regional Cooperation for Water Security in Africa and the Arab World

Agriculture across Africa and the Arab world is facing growing threats due to declining freshwater availability. Increasing demand, overuse, and ineffective water management are leading to groundwater depletion, salinization, and widespread contamination. These challenges pose serious risks to the future of agriculture, threatening food security, rural livelihoods, and sustainable development in some of the world’s most water-stressed regions. This session looks ahead to the future of cooperation, building on the long-standing partnership between IHE Delft in the Netherlands and the National Water Research Centre (NWRC) in Egypt and other partners in Africa and Arab world. Focusing on the next steps, the session will envision the new opportunities for collaboration for local and regional levels in Africa and Arab region., and provide a platform for open dialogue on how joint efforts, through research, capacity building, education, and innovation, can strengthen water resilience and localise the knowledge This is a joint session under three key projects: SafeAgroMENA, GWS-SENCE, and WaPOR, all supported by the Water Development and Partnership Program (WDPP) and funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).