Egypt takes part in Nile Basin ministers’ extraordinary meeting

Minister of Irrigation Hesham Kandil said on Tuesday 30/8/2011 that there will be consultations at the ministerial, technicians and experts’ level in Egypt and Sudan before the Nile Basin ministers’ extraordinary meeting which will be held in Rwanda on October 29. The consultations will focus on unifying the visions of the two countries to support cooperation between the countries of the upstream and downstream for the benefit of the peoples of the Nile Basin countries.

The minister, who heads the Egyptian delegation to attend the extraordinary meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, said that the meeting is devoted to discuss points of contention between the upstream and downstream countries which includes Egypt and Sudan.

The discussions will include the Framework Convention for the Nile water, he added.

During his recent visit to Khartoum, Kandil finalized an agreement between Egypt and Sudan to put a set of alternatives to reach an agreement to satisfy all parties and achieve development in all countries of the Nile Basin.

Kandil said that the several meetings between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia aim to determine a date for holding a Joint Tripartite Technical Committee for discussing the goals of Nahda Dam in Ethiopia during the visit of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to Egypt during the period from 17 to 18 September.

Kandil said that most of the Nile Basin countries confirm that the negotiation between them is inevitable and that Egypt and Sudan are playing a key role in achieving development in the region.

Kandil said that Egypt does not stand against any development projects in the Nile Basin countries and against the establishment of any dams that do not affect Egypt's share of Nile waters.

Kandil added that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia participated in a study to establish a series of dams to generate electricity, pointing out that Egypt also helped in establishing a number of small projects in Sudan, including the establishment of dams to generate electricity and contributed in drilling of wells in the Nile Basin countries.