A Historical Outlook about Egypt's Relationship with the Nile Basin Countries

The Egyptian diplomacy had realized since the dawn of history the mean-ing of being a Nile country and considered the Nile River issues an Egyptian ones from the first place, although its reactions either positive or negative is made between Egypt and the Nile Basin Countries. This does not contradict the relation of the foreign effects on the form of this relation and level of its warmth from time to time.

Throughout the 20th century the Egyptian policy witnessed more than one variable which had a major effect on the form and treaties of the Egyptian re-lationship with the Nile Basin countries, as follows:

1- During the first half of the 20th century, all the Nile Basin Countries were under occupation except Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and all the treaties concluded by the colonialist countries did not free from an article concerning the Nile Rive water and abstaination from taking any action that could affect the flow of Nile water without a previous agreement with Britain.

2- After issuance of the February 28 Declaration under which Egypt be-came an independent country, the Egyptian political thought believed in the unity of the Nile Valley (Egypt and Sudan). This approach was the base of all plans and projects of the Nile water.

3- Egypt's interest in studying the possibility of regional cooperation be-tween the Nile Basin Countries after the 1929 agreement.

4- The Egyptian interest in the water issue grew up after the July 23,1952 Revolution because of the necessities of development and progress. This prompted to set up the High Dam for water storage on the Nile Basin level implemented within the Egyptian border.

5- Many liberation and independence movements appeared after the Egyp-tian Revolution and all the Nile Basin countries gained its independence, so that they become direct anchor partners concerning the Egyptian water policy taking into consideration each party had its national interest.

6- After having its independence in 1956, Sudan declared rejection of the 1929 Agreement, and Egypt accepted negotiation, and indeed a full utilization of Nile water agreement was signed in 1959. This agreement is considered the first political water alliance between two countries of the Nile Basin countries towards the Nile water issues.

7- After signing the 1959 Agreement, inception of the Organization of Afri-can Unity (OAU) in 1963 and independence of the all Nile Basin countries, the Egyptian policy headed towards creating a regional water cooperation frame-works with the Nile Basin countries, this was represented in:

A) Hydromet Project in 1967.
B) INDOGO Group in 1983.
C) Techno Nile Project in 1992.
D) The Nile Basin Initiative in 1999.
All these projects and cooperation mechanism serves to organize the water and economic relationships among the Basin countries, provide the technical aid, protect the lakes and tributaries of the Nile River, maximize utilization of water wastes and clean the waterways.
8- Ten conferences were held in Egypt from 1991 to 2000.

- With the participation of the Nile Basin countries,10 conferences titled (Nile 2000) were held to enhance cooperation among the basin countries and discuss the problems facing the Nile river.

9- Relations between Egypt and Nile Basin countries were affected by the outbreak of ethnic struggles and the several coups post Cold War. Yet, the Egyptian policy made an effective role to preserve and achieve more coopera-tion among the Basin countries and provide the essential aid and peaceful ini-tiatives to score stability and peace within the Nile Basin countries.

 Egypt played a major role in solving the disputes between Ethiopia and Somalia – Sudan and Kenya – Sudan and Ethiopia – Kenya and Uganda – Rwanda and Burundi. Yet, president Mubarak by his calm policy and wisdom was able to make the Egyptian relationships with the Nile Basin countries in its best con-ditions especially after signing a memo of understanding with Uganda to ex-pand the power station of Owen Dam in 1991, and another cooperation framework with Ethiopia in 1993 in several fields mainly the Nile water.
10- Egypt always claims its natural and historical rights to Nile water and the unshakable acquired right to it, besides the agreements signed throughout the 20th century.

 These agreements which confirmed Egypt's right to have wa-ter without sustaining any adverse impacts that could be appeared as a result of erecting any establishments on the river. The agreements also refers to the necessity of consulting Egypt before engagement in any irrigation or power projects on any rivers and lakes which flow into the main river waterway.

Water Agreements between Egypt And Nile Basin Countries

Since the dawn of history, Egypt sought to organize its relationship with the Nile Basin countries and establish an enduring connection with its states through reaching an agreement over the optimal method of using the Nile in a manner that all the Nile Basin countries benefit from, along with preserving Egypt's historical right in the Nile water. Egypt had actually succeeded by signing more than 15 agreements on the bilateral and regional levels. Some of these agreements were signed during the occupation eras and had its impact on the current relations between Egypt and the Nile Basin countries.

A) Bilateral Agreements:
1- The Ethiopian Plateau:
Five agreements were signed to organize the relationship between Egypt and Ethiopia from which 85percent of Egypt's water quota comes:

1- Rome Protocol signed on April 15, 1891 between Britain and Italy which occupied Eritrea that time to define their respective spheres of influence in East Africa. Under the third article of the agreement Italy pledged not to erect any establishments for the purpose of irrigation on Atbara River which may affect the Nile discharges.

2- Addis Ababa Agreement signed on May 15, 1902 between Britain and Ethiopia by virtue of which Emperor Menelek II of Ethiopia pledged not to erect any establishments on the Blue Nile or Tana Lake or River Sobat that might obstruct the Nile water inflow but by the approval of both British and Sudanese governments in advance.

3- London Agreement signed in December 13, 1906 between Britain, France and Italy. Article 4 stipulated that these countries work together to secure the entrance of the Blue Nile water and its tributaries to Egypt.

4- Rome Agreement which consisted of a collection of exchanged letters be-tween Britain and Italy in 1925. Italy acknowledged the acquired water rights of Egypt and Sudan in the Blue Nile, White Nile and their tributaries and pledged not to set up any facilities which might decrease the amount of water heading to the main Nile.

5- The cooperation framework signed in Cairo early July 1993 between President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak and the Ethiopian Prime Minister, that time, Meles Zenawi played a major role in improving the Egyptian-Ethiopian relationship. This framework included cooperation between Egypt and Ethio-pia concerning Nile water as the following:

- Both countries have committed not to implement any Nile water activity which might cause harm to the interests of the other.
- The necessity to protect the Nile water.
- Respecting the provisions of the international law.
- Consultation and cooperation between the two countries with object to es-tablish projects for increasing the flow of water and reduce waste quantities.

2- The Equatorial Plateau:
It is the second source of the Nile as 15 percent of its water reaches the Nile water. It includes six countries: Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. The water relation between these countries and Egypt is organ-ized by several agreements, salient of which are:

1- London agreement signed in May 1906 between Britain and Congo. It is an amendment for a previous agreement signed by the same parties on May 12, 1894. Article 3 stipulates that Congo's government vowed not to imple-ment or allow building any establishments on Semliki or Asango rivers or be-sides them that might lead to a drop in the volume of water that flowed to Albert Lake unless an advance agreement is reached with the Sudanese gov-ernment.

2- The 1929 Agreement, it is two letters exchanged between Mohammed Mahmoud the Egyptian Prime Minister that time and the British High Com-missioner Lewed. The two letters were signed on May 7, 1929 and attached with the water committee's report drawn up in 1925. This report is considered a part of this agreement. Britain signed this agreement on behalf of Sudan, Uganda and Tanganyika (now Tanzania) which were all occupied by Britain that time.

A) No works of irrigation or power generation or procedures would be undertaken on the Nile and its tributaries or on the lakes which the Nile originated from either in Sudan or the countries under the British administra-tion that would reduce the volume of water reaching Egypt, or amend the date of its arrival or decline its level in a way that could cause harm for Egypt's interest without making an agreement in advance with the Egyptian government.

B) The agreement highlights Egypt's natural and historical rights to Nile River water.

3- London Agreement signed on November 23, 1934 between Britain on behalf of Tanganyika (now Tanzania) and Belgium on behalf of Rwanda and Aurundi (now Rwanda and Burundi). It is related to the two countries' usage of Kagera River.

4- The 1953 agreement signed between Egypt and Britain in behalf of Uganda, concerning building the Owen Dam at the outlet of Victoria Lake. It is a collection of exchanged letters from 1949 to1953 between the Egyptian and British governments. The most important items in this agreement are as follow:-

-The exchanged agreements referred to the 1929 agreement and pledged to adhere to it, moreover, it stipulated that building the Owen Dam would be accomplished according to the spirit of the 1929 agreement.

- Britain, in behalf of Uganda pledged that establishment and operation of the power station should not adversely decrease the amount of water reach-ing Egypt or adjusting the time of its arrival or decreasing the water level that causes harm to Egypt's interest.

5- The 1991 agreement between Egypt and Uganda, signed by presidents Mubarak and Musiveni, includes the following:

- Uganda stressed its respect herein to what was mentioned in the 1953 agreement, signed by Britain on its behalf and this is considered an implicit recognition of the 1929 agreement.
- The agreement stipulated that the water management of Victoria Lake has to be discussed and reviewed by Egypt and Uganda with no effect on Egypt's water needs.

3- Water agreements signed between Egypt and Sudan.

There are two agreements that organize the water policy between Egypt and Sudan:

1- The 1929 agreement

This agreement organizes the water policy between Egypt and the coun-tries of the tropical plateau. It has articles on the water relation between Egypt and Sudan. These articles were mentioned in the Egyptian Prime Minister's letter and the British High Commissioner as follow:

- The Egyptian government is highly interested in reconstructure of Sudan and agrees on increasing the amounts of Nile water that Sudan uses with no harm to Egypt's natural and historical rights to this water.

- The Egyptian government agrees on what was mentioned in the report of Nile Water Committee in 1925 and considers it part and parcel thereof.

- No irrigation or power generation projects or any procedures shall be car-ried out on the Nile or its branches or on the lakes that spring either from Su-dan or the countries under the British rule, that could decrease Egypt's share of water or adjust its arrival time or decrease its level by any mean that could harm Egypt's interests.

- All facilities are provided to the Egyptian government to conduct water studies and researches to the Nile River in Sudan. Egypt can carry out projects there to increase the Nile water in favour of Egypt by reaching an agreement with local authorities.

2- The 1959 Agreement
This agreement was signed by Egypt and Sudan in Cairo in November 1959 as a complementary to the 1929 agreement not abolishing it.

It stipulates the full control of the water reaching Egypt and Sudan in the light of the new changes that appeared on the arena that time such as build-ing the High Dam and the projects in the upper course of the Nile to increase its water quantities, in addition to building a number of dams in Aswan. The agreement of the full utilization of the Nile water includes a number of impor-tant items such as:

- Egypt keeps its acquired right to the Nile River that is 48 billion cubic me-ters annually as well as the Sudan's right estimated at four billion cubic meter annually.

- The two countries agreed that Egypt would establish the High Dam and Sudan would establish the Ar-Rusayris Dam on the Blue Nile and the ensuing necessary steps to make the best use of its share.

- This item stipulated that the distribution of the water benefit from the High Dam that reaches 22 billion cubic meters annually shall be distributed to the two countries where Sudan gets 14.5 billion cubic meters and Egypt 7.5 billion cubic meters. Thus Egypt's annual share reaches 55.5 billion cubic me-ters and Sudan's share reaches 18.5 billion cubic meters.

- Sudan agreed with Egypt to establish some projects to increase the River's water quantities to make the best use of the waste water in Bahr el-Jabal, Bahr el-Zaraf, Bahr el-Ghazal, in addition to al Subat River and its branches and the basin of the White Nile provided that the water and the financial cost of these projects should be divided by half between the two countries.
Establishing a permanent joint technical authority for the water Nile.

Mechanisms of regional cooperation

It has become necessary to find new mechanisms for regional cooperation among the basin countries in addition to the above mentioned agreements be-cause of the constant changes, the nature of the ten countries that form the Nile Basin and what they witnessed after the decolonization era ended, Egypt's desire to extend ties of cooperation with the Nile Basin countries as a strategic depth for Egypt and for what the Nile represents in the Egyptians' life. These mechanisms have already started since 1960s as follow:

1- Nile Water Authority

- A joint technical authority for the Nile water between Egypt and Sudan was established under the umbrella of 1959 Agreement. It works for studying and establishing projects with object to increasing the benefits of the river.

- Its most important studies were four projects within Sudan's borders and don't affect the other countries. They will provide 18 billion cubic meters an-nually when they are finished. They are:

- The first phase of Gongli Canal
- The second phase of Gongli Canal.
- Mashar project.
- Bahr el-Ghazal project.

The Nile Water Authority groups a technical committee of experts from the two countries ( Egypt and Sudan) and held periodical meetings to solve any problem that could hinder the implementation of the 1959 agreement.

2- Hydromet

It means studying the water and meteorological conditions of the basin of Tropical Lakes. In 1967, this project was launched only in collaboration with five countries, out of the ten countries of the Basin. They are Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and the Sudan. Rwanda, Burundi and Democratic Congo (Zaire) joined later, in addition to Ethiopia as an observer.
According to this agreement, monitoring stations were established in the main rain centers: Victoria, Kyoga and Albert lakes. This project was financed by a lot of international donors like the UNDP and WMO. This project has been accomplished on three stages as follows:

a- From 1967 to 1972 financed by the UN Development Program (UNDP).
b- From 1976 to 1980 financed by the UNDP.
c- From 1981 to 1992 financed by the countries lying on joint shores.

3- INDOGO

It means "Fraternity" in Swahili language. It was Egypt's idea supported by Zaire and the Sudan to establish it. It has most of the Nile Basin countries in central and east of Africa. It was declared during the ministerial conference of the countries of the Nile Basin held in Khartoum in November, 1983. This gathering aims to:

1- Consult and cooperate concerning the regional issues.
2- Support cooperation of the group in the field of development.
3- Exchange of experience in all fields to support the regional cooperation.
4- The INDOGO meetings shall be hold within the framework of the re-gional cooperation to Lagos Economic plan of Action in 1980.
5- Support the economic integration among the member states of the agreement, however, this gathering met several difficulties that prevented it to realize its goals. The most important obstacles are:

1- Shortage of finance required to its projects

2- The constant competition between Ethiopia and Sudan to host the Per-manent Follow-up Committee.

4- Techo-Nile Grouping

It is a gathering for technical cooperation for development and environ-ment protection among the Nile Basin countries.

 This gathering was estab-lished in December, 1992 with the participation of six countries as active members. They are: Egypt, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Democ-ratic Congo. The other countries have got the status of observer. The Techo-Nile project went on during 1992/98. It is considered the first organized mechanism grouping the Basin countries with a comprehensive plan includ-ing 22 projects.

5-Nile Basin Initiative

The Nile basin initiative was launched with in 1999 object with to set a strategy of cooperation among the Nile nations and move from the stage of studies to that of execution. The initiative adopted the slogan of improving the economic rates and combating poverty. The Nile Basin countries for the first time joined a cooperation mechanism as standing members except Eritrea that sufficed with the status of an observer. The initiative had 22 projects di-vided into two pivots:

A- The projects of joint vision on the level of the ten countries of the basin. These projects were distributed to the basin countries where each country has played its role in these projects. Egypt obtained the projects of applicable training.

B- The projects of the sub-basins were divided into two areas where there is a number of projects in each area:

* The Nile projects of Tropical Lakes Plateau
* Projects of the Eastern Nile.
6-The East Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO)
It is a regional office, established in March 2001 by Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The Addis Ababa-based office aims at studying the joint water pro-jects gathered under the program of the Eastern Basin Nile. This program in-cludes several projects in the field of monitoring floods, and power genera-tion from the water of the river.


The Egyptian Participation in The Water Projects With the Nile Basin Countries.

Egypt was always keen on the efficient participation in all projects of agri-culture, power generation, protecting and cleaning the river in the Nile Basin countries by providing the technical experience and the financial aid. This Egyptian role was shown in many projects such as:

1- In 1925, Egypt established Snar Dam on the Blue Nile in favor of Sudan.

2- Egypt financed the establishment of Awlia Mountain Dam in Sudan to generate electricity for Khartoum City in 1932.

3- Egypt agreed with Britain; on behalf of Uganda in 1953 to establish Owen Dam on Owen waterfalls in Victoria Lake to score a water reserve. Egypt paid the building costs of the dam and the annual expenses in addition to the Egyptian engineering presence at the Dam site to participate with the Ugandan officials in supervising the operation of the Dam in favor of the two countries.

4- The project of expanding Owen Dam power station was implemented according to the memorandum of understanding signed by Egypt and Uganda in 1991.

5- The project of Gongli Canal started in 1978 and about 70% of the project was accomplished, but it stopped in 1983 due to the civil war South Sudan. The work is expected to start again after signing the Sudanese Peace Agree-ment that came into effect.

6- Egypt dug tens wells in Kenya including the grant presented to Kenya in March, 2004 estimated at $2 million for digging 40 wells.

7- Egypt established a water research center in Tanzania.

8- According to the request of the Democratic Congo government, Egypt shall technically take part in modernizing the water management in Congo.

9- Clearing Victoria and Kyoga Lakes from weeds and water plants in both Uganda and Tanzania through a grant estimated at $14 million.

10- Egypt offered $13.9 million to Uganda in March, 2004 to start the sec-ond stage of removing weeds in Uganda's rivers and lakes to raise the effi-ciency of fisheries.


Conclusion

We have concluded, after the previous studies and President Mubarak's speeches he delivered in many African occasions throughout the last 25 years since he assumed office in Egypt, that Africa has a deep-rooted prestige not only in President Mubarak's thought and the Egyptian people and foreign policy, but also on the practical level.

Egypt, under President Mubarak, has been taking effective steps for push-ing forward the wheel of development and progress in the continent. This drive is shown in the initiatives Egypt launched and the several conferences and activities it hosted for the interest of the continent's growth, welfare and sustainable development that can eliminates poverty.

Egypt also received a major number of African students who enjoy scholar-ships, not mention the Egyptian experts in all fields who meet Africa's needs in agriculture, economic, scientific, water, information domains…etc.

Egypt is always seeking placing its regional and international weight one of Africa's pillars in terns of its issues at international level