The European Union has long been committed to supporting Egypt’s water security and sustainable development. Through initiatives like Aqua Dialogues of todayand partnerships with institutions like Aswan University and the National Water Research Centre, we are not just providing financial support. We are investing in ideas, in innovation, and most importantly, in people — in you. We firmly believe that youth-led initiatives can transform challenges into opportunities. Through entrepreneurship competitions, training programmes, and innovation hubs, we are encouraging young minds to dream big — to develop projects that can become real businesses, create jobs, and contribute to a water-smart economy.

The Aqua Dialogue initiative combines awareness raising (on pollution, irrigation, and reuse) with youth debates, expert panels and innovation support. By turning awareness into action, it helps students and young engineers launch real projects. In fact, in May 2025 the program will hold a “Dialogue to Action” boot camp to connect youth with private investors and mentors and turn their water-tech ideas into start-ups. Water-sector entrepreneurship is a transformative solution: it creates jobs, sparks innovation, and builds water systems that are more resilient. By supporting water-focused start-ups, we also foster economic opportunity for our young people

Our EU-Egypt Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership, alongside initiatives like the EU-Egypt Joint Water Partnership, represents the robust framework through which Europe is shifting from traditional development cooperation to partnership, guided by shared values and common interests and challenges, in which transformative investment and innovation are key. Together, we aim to position Egypt as a regional leader in integrated water governance and climate adaptation. We know that fostering entrepreneurship is not easy. It requires not only talent and vision but also access to resources, mentorship, partnerships, and sometimes simply the courage to keep going after the first setback. That is why the EU, through the Aqua Dialogues and many other programmes, like PRIMA , NEXTMED and Horizon Europe, which I am glad that Egypt shall become a full member within very soon ; are working to connect you with research centres, private sector partners, and networks across Europe and beyond.