NWP welcomed Ethiopian State Minister for water and irrigation

Africa Water & Agrifood

Ethiopian State Minister Dr Abraha Adugna Ashenafi visits the Netherlands

In cooperation with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NWP prepared a three day programme for the Ethiopian State Minister Dr Abraha Adugna Ashenafi. The programme was designed to show the diversity of Dutch water expertise, ranging from sustainable groundwater and drinking water management to the management of international river basins and the efficient use of water for agriculture.

Exploring opportunities for Ethiopia and for the Dutch water sector

One of the most important objectives of the visit was to explore the opportunities for Ethiopia and for the Dutch water sector by showcasing Dutch approaches to water management (e.g. ‘Room for the River’) and initiatives/tools to use geodata to map groundwater. The latter was again discussed in greater detail during the Ethiopia Platform Meeting that took place on 17 April at Waternet in Amsterdam.

Clear orientation on technical solutions and concrete outcomes

During his visit, Dr Abraha Adugna Ashenafi also received a warm welcome at IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, where he was once an MSc. student before pursuing his PhD in Berlin. Several Dutch NWP members shared their expertise, enhancing the value of the programme for the State Minister. Dr Abraha Adugna Ashenafi perceived the visit as very good and found the exposure to technical solutions to the issues in the Ethiopian water sector very useful. One of the outcomes of the visit is that the Ethiopian State Minister and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs agreed to explore a joint project for the Valuing Water Initiative that encourages greater use of new and sustainable methods of water management.

For more information of the programme and/or follow-up of the visit, please contact Annemarie Mastenbroek, a.mastenbroek@nwp.nl or Wim Klaassen, w.klaassen@nwp.nl.