Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Mohamed Abdel Aati held talks with a number of senior officials of Zanzibar, including the ministers of agriculture, irrigation and trade, during his current visit of Tanzania.

Zanzibar is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania.

Abdel Aati said the Egyptian Irrigation Ministry is ready to offer all technical expertise needed in Zanzibar, including rehabilitating the infrastructure of irrigation system and setting up underground wells.

He said such water projects could be financed by international donors, PPP system or through a tripartite partnership that was successfully applied worldwide.

The trade and marketing minister of Zanzibar urged Egyptian investors to honor their promises made in the latest investment conference that was held in Cairo and carry out promising development projects, especially in the agricultural domain.

But she noted that high transportation fees behind declining cooperation between Egypt and Zanzibar.

Abdel Aati made clear that the project of adding a navigation lane to the Nile River, linking Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea would promote trade among Nile-basin states.

The Egyptian minister expressed readiness to offer technical expertise to Zanzibar in the river transport technology and the power station maintenance domains.

Source: MENA