Cairo: Professor Dr. Hani Suwailem, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, met with Ms. Cécile Coupry, the regional director for North Africa at the French Development Agency (AFD), to discuss current and proposed future areas of collaboration between the two sides.According to State Information Service Egypt, they reviewed the achievements made during the first three phases of the national drainage programme and discussed the status of the financing agreement within the fourth national drainage programme, which is currently being prepared for launch soon. This programme aims to establish, replace, and renew covered drainage networks over an area of 1.4 million feddans in three phases extending over 12 years.Additionally, they discussed benefiting from French expertise in efforts to prepare the "Strategic Plan for the Maintenance and Replacement of Pumping Stations." Dr. Suwailem highlighted the importance of enhancing a comprehensive understanding of the pumping station system and improving its per formance through the development of a strategic plan for these stations. This would enable decision-makers to establish priorities for rehabilitation, replacement, and maintenance according to clear technical standards.Dr. Suwailem invited the French side to participate in the activities of the 8th Cairo Water Week, scheduled to be held next October, to enrich the discussions and events and explore further opportunities for cooperation between the two countries during the week's activities.