On Tuesday El-Sisi met with the water and irrigation ministers from a number of Nile basin countries Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi met with water and irrigation ministers from a number of Nile basin countries on Tuesday, where he stressed the importance of reaching a consensus on the Cooperative Framework Agreement that guarantees the rights and water security of all involved countries.

 

The Egyptian president held meetings with ministers from Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda, who are participating in the National Water Research Centre's conference on water sustainability in Cairo.

During the meeting, El-Sisi stressed Egypt’s policy of not interfering in the internal affairs or hindering the development plans of any country, highlighting the importance of reaching economic solidarity and boosting cooperation to achieve development in the African continent.

The Cooperative Framework Agreement is an initiative among the Nile basin states that "seeks to develop the river in a cooperative manner, share substantial socioeconomic benefits, and promote regional peace and security.”

The agreement between a number of Nile upstream countries, which is also known as the Entebbe agreement, is meant to replace the 1929 agreement that awarded Egypt and Sudan the majority use of the Nile River.

In 2010, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi and Ethiopia signed the agreement.

The main Nile downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, still have concerns about the imitative, refusing to sign the agreement in its current form arguing it will affect their historical shares of Nile water.

Source-Ahram Online