Khartoum agrees to Nile water agreement review By MOHAMMED AMIN in Khartoum | Thursday, June 19 2014 Sudan willing to negotiate new Nile Basin deal. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP Sudan will support to the upstream Nile Basin countries to review the current water sharing agreement, official said. Irrigation and Water Resources minister of Mutaz Musa Abdullah said at the opening of the Nile Basin conference in Khartoum on Thursday, that Sudan recognised the right of the upstream countries to a reasonable and equitable utilisation of the Nile resources. He stressed that cooperation among the Nile Basin countries was the best option. The minister pointed out the opportunities for promoting cooperation among the Nile Basin countries, saying that while some states had the opportunity to generate electricity, others had agricultural land and others industrial capabilities. “Our biggest challenge is how to build confidence among the Nile Basin countries to establish a strong regional bloc in order to reduce poverty and offer support for the people in the region,” Mr Abdullah urged. “Ethiopia could produce 160,000 Kilowatt-hours of electricity besides Eritrea’s agricultural capabilities, which offer an opportunity for launching joint projects between the Nile Basin countries,” he noted. A boycott “South Sudan,” the minister went on, “has great potential for electric power generation and Egypt has large industrial capabilities, underscoring the need for cooperation between the two countries to take advantage of these integrative opportunities.” The Sudanese position was remarkable as Khartoum was considered as supporting the old agreement which gives Egypt the lion share of the Nile water. The Nile Basin initiative conference came against a backdrop of major disputes between the upstream and downstream countries. The splits had also been fuelled by the dispute between Addis Ababa and Cairo over the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. The Khartoum meeting will witness a change in the NBI governance in which South Sudan’s minister for Electricity, Water and Irrigation Jemma Nunu Kumba will hand over the chairmanship to the Sudanese Electricity minister, Mr Mutaz Musa Abdalla Salim. A source from the Sudanese Irrigation ministry confirmed Egypt’s participation amid claims of a boycott. NBI was formally launched in February 1999 by the Water ministers of nine countries that share the river: Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), as well as Eritrea as an observer.
Posted on: Thu, 19 Jun 2014 18:37:57 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015