Trilateral meeting in Khartoum to discuss Egypt's return to NBI

CAIRO – 13 March 2017: A trilateral meeting was held in Sudan Monday to discuss Egypt’s resumption of its activities in the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation said in a statement.

Minister of Irrigation Mohammed Abdel-Ati led the Egyptian delegation in the meeting that was attended by water ministers from Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda.

To protest the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), Egypt froze its activity in the NBI in 2010. The CFA outlines the principles, rights and obligations for cooperative management and development of the Nile Basin’s water resources, according to the NBI website.

The pact replaces a decades-old agreement that gave Egypt and Sudan rights over more than 90 percent of the Nile's waters. The CFA was signed by six NBI members so far.

Abdel-Ati presented the Egyptian view during a meeting in Tanzania in February to resume the country’s activities in the NBI, and pointed to the fact that Egypt depends on the Nile River to meet 97 percent of its demand for water.

Cairo argues that Egypt has historical rights to the Nile that have not been taken into consideration by the CFA, and demands a clear stipulation requiring prior notification from other members about planned measures regarding the Nile.