Egypt and Sudan: “The Nile Basin Initiative” is the best path to consensus… and “Entebbe” is not binding.
This week, the Egyptian state presented a set of important messages regarding its cooperative vision with the Nile Basin countries, and stressed the importance of integration and partnership, to achieve common interests, in the face of the unilateral actions adopted by some countries, which exacerbate divisions.
The Egyptian positions and messages came through many platforms, but they emphasized the same meaning and vision, regarding the option of integration and partnership, in the face of unilateral actions. The first messages came from the activities of the “Cairo Water Week” conference. Organized by the Ministry of Irrigation, Prime Minister Dr. Mostafa Madbouly spoke in his speech at the conference about the “Framework Agreement for the Nile Basin Countries.” Known as (Entebbe), he said that it does not enjoy consensus among the Nile Basin countries, pointing out that “the Nile Basin Initiative, which was established in 1999, is the only comprehensive mechanism that represents the entire Nile Basin,” and called for the necessity of “preserving legal rights and obligations.” These messages were preceded by a meeting of the Joint Permanent Authority for the Nile Waters, between Egypt and Sudan, and stressed that the Entebbe Agreement was not binding on the two countries. It does not represent the Nile Basin, as it violates the principles of international law. The meeting also emphasized “the importance of water cooperation in the Nile Basin,” and demanded the need to “restore cohesion to the Nile Basin Initiative and not take unilateral measures that contribute to the division between the upstream and downstream countries in the Nile River Basin.” , as the best way to agree on a permanent framework and cooperation mechanism for the Nile Basin.
At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Badr Abdel-Ati, during his meeting with the Prime Minister, announced “ Beginning to take the necessary steps to implement the directive of the President of the Republic, by establishing a fund for investment in the Nile Basin, with the aim of achieving development on the basis of participation and cooperation between Egypt and its brothers in the Nile Basin countries.” He said that the fund aims to enhance investment in development projects and infrastructure projects and will be used for its financing. It depends on three sources: the Egyptian state budget, the partnership with the Egyptian private sector, and the partnership with our brothers in the Nile Basin countries, and the African continent’s partners from countries and regional and international organizations.
