Egypt champions Nile Basin development, says water security is crucial

Egypt has once again reaffirmed its commitment to the country’s water security, calling for collaboration among the Nile River Basin states, with the goal of tailoring the region’s development plans to more acutely address Egypt’s access to water.

According to The North Africa Post on August 15th, Egypt’s government is seeking regional partnerships, saying that any development plans in the region are achievable, but that international law must be respected.

In a joint statement from Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam, both emphasised that its neighbours’ development plans should go ahead. However, the Ministers were keen to stress that any such development should adhere to international law governing transboundary rivers. In that spirit, they once again rejected the actions taken in the Eastern Nile Basin such as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), saying that it breached these legal principles. To that end, the Ministers from Egypt said that they would closely monitor the situation, and make use of any and all power granted to them under international law to protect their country’s natural resources.

Rather than a divisive speech, however, the dialogue was instead marked by a sentiment of regional solidarity in the form of significant investment in the Southern Basin states. Unveiling a $100 million financing mechanism, they intend to propel infrastructure and development projects that span dams, solar-powered pumping stations, reservoirs, water labs, flood defences, and more. The initiative will include nations from South Sudan, Kenya, the DRC and Uganda to Sudan, and Tanzania.

Egypt has been looking for several years now to create political and economic partnerships in the region to act as a counterbalance to the GERD, and independently secure its resource sovereignty, as well as reinforcing international alliances. This move follows on from promises made earlier this year, with Egypt wishing to create cooperation among African countries that would address food and water security, and ultimately secure greater economic progress and job creation.

In order to solidify this role as a regional development partner, the country is also looking to reinforce local skills and knowledge in the required sectors; Egypt seeks to upgrade its local capacity in the countries listed above, which it has already accomplished in part by supporting over 1,650 professionals from 52 African countries via training programs. To make sure that money, resources and skills reach the right place, Egypt is also advancing high-level consultations through initiatives such as the Egyptian Nile Basin Development Initiative and the Agency for Partnership for Development.

The North Africa Post, Maghrebi.org