The Arab Republic of Egypt has reiterated that it will support Kenya's plans in the water and irrigation sectors.
The Egyptian Minister for Irrigation and Water Resources, Dr. Hani Sawilam, made the pledge when he visited Kenya's National Assembly.
Dr. Sawilam is in the East African country on a 2-day visit to discuss bolstering joint cooperation in the water sector.
The Minister, accompanied by top officials from his ministry and the Egyptian Embassy in Nairobi, expressed his government's intention to partner with Kenya to help support the water and irrigation sectors.
"Just like Egypt, Kenya should not only rely on water bodies like rivers for irrigation, you can have water points drilled from the ground to support irrigation. Egypt has experience in water catchment areas, the same can be used for irrigation pilot programs in the country," noted Dr. Sawilan.
The Public Investment Committee assistant Chair Emanuel Wangwe and his counterpart Chairs Kangogo Bowen and John Mutunga pointed out to the delegation the challenges Kenya faces in the water sector.
"Part of the reasons Kenya is facing water shortage is the wastage we see during rainy season. There is a lot of water that goes to waste then and we are also faced with water recycling challenges among others," Wangwe.
On his part, Kangogo underpinned the good relations Kenya and Egypt enjoy. He assured them that Kenya is ready to work with Egypt to support irrigation projects across various parts of the country.
"We encourage our friends from Egypt to support our water harvesting plans. Currently, Kenya has very few irrigation schemes that only focus on rice, horticulture and floriculture. We have plans to support the expansion of these," observed Kangogo.
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