Egypt, Tajikistan Discuss Water Cooperation

Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty meets with Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Cairo Zarobiddin Kosimi. (Water and Irrigation Ministry)
Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty meets with Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Cairo Zarobiddin Kosimi. (Water and Irrigation Ministry)
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Egypt, Tajikistan Discuss Water Cooperation

Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty meets with Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Cairo Zarobiddin Kosimi. (Water and Irrigation Ministry)
Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty meets with Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Cairo Zarobiddin Kosimi. (Water and Irrigation Ministry)

Egypt and Tajikistan discussed on Monday ways to boost cooperation in the field of water resources and irrigation.

Egyptian Water and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty met with Tajikistan’s Ambassador to Cairo, Zarobiddin Kosimi and prepared a memorandum of understanding that includes all areas of proposed cooperation.

Kosimi praised the great development in Egypt's water system in recent years, said a statement released by Abdel Aty’s office.

He also discussed the arrangements made by Tajikistan to host the Dushanbe Water Conference in June 2022, which Abdel Aty will attend as a representative of Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

During the meeting, Abdel Aty reviewed Egypt’s preparations to hold the fifth edition of Cairo Water Week and the UN Conference of Parties on Climate Change (COP 27) that will be held in Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

He highlighted the efforts made by his ministry to prepare for the UN mid-term review conference that will be held in New York in March 2023.

He announced that his ministry is preparing a regional report that lists the challenges of countries that suffer from water scarcity, as well as developing a number of recommendations that contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals.

Tajikistan is a member of the Water and Climate Coalition, which collaborates with a number of UN organizations to integrate between the water and climate agendas.

The Egyptian Water Ministry said in its statement that talks between Abdel Aty and Kosimi tackled the action plan of the Water and Climate Coalition, which is led by the presidents of Tajikistan and Hungary.

The minister briefed him on the measures taken by Egypt to improve its irrigation system and efforts to contain the impact of climate change, including the cleaning of canals, shift to drip irrigation and recycling of wastewater.



Italy’s Olympic Flag Bearer Tamberi Loses His Wedding Ring in the Seine River

Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)
Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)
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Italy’s Olympic Flag Bearer Tamberi Loses His Wedding Ring in the Seine River

Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)
Gianmarco Tamberi waves an Italian flag as the Italian team parades along the Seine river in Paris, France, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 26, 2024 (AP)

Drama is never far from the surface when it comes to flamboyant high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi and big events.

This time it involved what went below the surface.

The Italian lost his wedding ring in the Seine River during the rainy opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.

“I’m sorry my love, I’m really, really sorry,” Tamberi wrote in an open letter of apology he posted on Instagram on Saturday to his wife of two years, Chiara Bontempi.

“Too much water, too many kilograms lost over the last few months and maybe the uncontrollable enthusiasm of what we were doing. Probably all three things,” added Tamberi, who shared flag-bearing duties for Italy with fencer Arianna Errigo during Friday's ceremony, which featured boats parading athletes instead of the usual procession inside a stadium.

Last month, Tamberi pretended to hide springs in his shoes when he won gold at the European Championships then jumped into the arms of Italy President Sergio Mattarella. And when he shared gold with his good friend Mutaz Barshim at the Tokyo Games, Tamberi celebrated wildly, which drew more attention than his performance.

Tamberi, along with Errigo, had the honor of flying to Paris on the presidential plane with Mattarella, which he called “the most emotional flight of my life” — a play on words with his jumping “flights."

Tamberi said he felt the ring sliding off his finger and saw it dropping as Italy cruised down the Seine on a boat with Israel and Jamaica.

“I followed it until I saw it bounce inside the boat,” he said. “But the rebound went in the wrong direction unfortunately. ... But if it had to happen, if I really had to lose this ring, I couldn’t imagine a better place. It will remain forever on the riverbed in the City of Love.”

Tamberi is favored to win another gold when the men’s high jump competition starts Aug. 7.

“Hopefully this is a sign that I’ll come home with an ever bigger gold medal,” he said.

Tamberi invited his wife to throw her ring into the Seine, too.

“Then they’ll be together forever,” Tamber said, “and we’ll have another reason to renew our vows.”