A first step for the Nile Basin Co-operative Framework?

(BY HUGO)

As reported by AlJazeera and BBC, four of nine Nile Basin countries - Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania - have signed on 14 May 2010 a new treaty on the equitable sharing of the Nile waters despite strong political opposition from Egypt and Sudan.

The new agreement, the Nile Basin Co-operative Framework, is to replace a 1959 accord between Egypt and Sudan that gave them de facto control of more than 90 per cent of the water flow. The agreement requires signature of at least six countries and remains open for one year.

Collegue Musa Abseno has been heavily involved in the long negociation process for the Nile Basin Co-operative Framework.