India Leads New Environmental Cooperation Initiatives with Egypt
Dr. Manal Awad, Minister of Local Development and Environment, received Shri Kirtivardan Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, Environment, Forests, and Climate Change of the Republic of India, to discuss ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two countries in a number of environmental areas of mutual interest. The meeting was attended by Suresh K. Reddy, Indian Ambassador to Egypt, C. Sushma, Deputy Head of Mission at the Indian Embassy, and several officials from the Egyptian Ministry of Environment and the Indian Embassy in Cairo.
The meeting addressed ways to cooperate in a number of environmental fields, including the establishment of environmental emergency centers. Given the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency's extensive experience in this field, the meeting explored potential cooperation in the use of plastic bags, supporting Egypt in plastics negotiations, mitigating the effects of climate change, and the importance of biofuel production and use. Discussions also covered opportunities for collaboration in water quality, wetland protection and water conservation, biodiversity, and nature preservation.
The meeting further addressed several proposed activities to enhance Egyptian-Indian cooperation. These included renewing collaboration with the Energy and Resources Institute in several areas, such as developing national and international policies, cooperating on the safe disposal of electronic and medical waste, promoting waste-to-energy conversion, and building capacity in this field, particularly for agricultural waste like rice straw and sugarcane. The transfer of Indian biotechnology to improve the efficiency of this sector was also discussed.
The Egyptian Minister highlighted the benefits of Indian technical and economic cooperation programs in training and developing Egyptian personnel in various environmental fields. This would enhance Egypt's ability to address environmental and developmental challenges, while also encouraging Indian investment in the environmental sector and supporting sustainable environmental solutions.
She noted that the Indian Embassy in Cairo had extended an invitation to Egypt to join the International Big Cat Alliance, a global initiative led by India to protect seven key big cat species, including tigers, lions, leopards, and other tiger subspecies.
The Egyptian Minister also reviewed the most prominent aspects of existing cooperation between the two sides (Egypt and India), highlighting Egypt's support for India in the field of environmental emergency centers, given its distinguished expertise. She emphasized her aspiration to enhance cooperation in the areas of environmental management, climate change, and new and renewable energy, particularly green hydrogen and green ammonia, while benefiting from Egypt's experience in reducing carbon emissions and achieving a just energy transition.
For his part, the Indian Minister welcomed the strengthening of cooperation with Egypt in several environmental fields. He commended Dr. Manal Awad for assuming another ministerial portfolio, that of Local Development, stressing the link between social and local development and environmental issues, including energy provision and rural development. He also emphasized the need to focus on the use of new and renewable energy sources, particularly solar energy, which represents approximately 40% of India's energy mix.
He expressed his hope to expand cooperation in the areas of bioenergy and extended producer responsibility, and invited Egypt to join the Indian initiative on infrastructure to combat climate change.
