The Nile: One River for ten countries, Egypt, Sudan and al…

By on May 12, 2010
Ten countries share the Nile Basin: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Uganda and United Republic of Tanzania.
Several states (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia) openly call into question the longstanding agreements. For Egypt, 95% of water comes from the Nile, unlike other coastal states where it rains. The river management is a matter of life or death.

Egypt has always considered having some historical rights over the Nile, and dreads to see the other countries along the river unilaterally modify sharing agreements.
On May 14th, the ten Nile neighboring countries have to find a new agreement. If by then Egypt fails to reach a compromise, eight countries are threatening to sign without it. In this context, Cairo can count on the support of Khartoum who shares his views. But Egypt fears that in future, the South Sudan disengages as did Ethiopia and Kenya.
For Egypt, the question of the independence of Southern Sudan therefore comes down to a simple equation. The creation of a Southern State Will it or not increase the risk of the challenging watershed?
Since 1979, Egypt has made the issue of Nile water a national security issue. At the time of President Anwar al-Sadat, Egypt claimed that only this issue could lead Egypt to reenter the war… one can measure how crucial water can be for the survival of the 80 million Egyptians…

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