Burundi-Egypt: A strategic bill on water resources management adopted by the National Assembly
RegionWeek Newsletter Vol VI, Issue #201 | Thursday, January 13th, 2022
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Dear Readers,
This Wednesday, the National Assembly met in a plenary session to analyze and adopt the ratification bill of the cooperation agreement on the implementation of the integrated water resources management project in Burundi between the Government of Burundi and the Arab Republic of Egypt.
As the National Assembly communication team reports, the cooperation agreement was signed on March 24, 2021, in Cairo, Egypt. Burundi, having the most southern source of the Nile, provides water to Egypt while Egypt, in turn, will benefit Burundi with projects to ensure the protection and management of its water resources.
The Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Dr. Guide Rurema was invited to the Congress Palace in Kigobe to present the explanatory statement and answer questions from MPs on the bill.
MPs raised concerns related mainly to the fact that it is Egypt that initiated those agreements and asked whether the interests of Egypt would not be far superior to those of Burundi. The Minister reassured that it is a win-win partnership. After the analysis, the bill was passed with 72.7% of the votes.
Why it matters
Cooperation agreements were concluded during the State visit of President Evariste Ndayishimiye to Cairo in March 2021. Strengthening relations with Burundi is one of Egypt’s foreign policy priorities. Burundi is an important country for Egypt not only because of the African geographic connection but also because it is one of the Nile Basin countries. Building stronger ties aim to preserve Cairo’s interests, protect its water security, and shrink the presence of any forces opposing Egyptian national security.
Tariq Fahmy, professor of political science with Cairo University, explains that Egypt’s rapprochement with the Nile Basin region would not only preserve the water rights of Egypt but also achieve regional security and stability.
During President Evariste’s Egypt visit in March, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi stressed Egypt’s adherence to its water rights and the need to reach a legal agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, GERD.
He called for reaching a legal agreement that includes clear rules for the process of filling and operation the dam. During their negotiations, Sisi and Ndayishimiye agreed on the need to intensify coordination during the coming period on the sensitive and vital GERD issue
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Conflict around Nile waters
Tensions and disputes over the Nile River’s water have been ongoing for decades. The relationships among the Nile Basin’s ten countries are governed by a set of treaties and agreements signed during the 20th century (in 1902, 1929, and 1959) and are commonly known as the Nile River Agreements.
Not only have these treaties guaranteed Egypt’s share of the Nile water over the past century and enabled it to achieve its developmental and agricultural plans—particularly after building the Aswan High Dam in the early 1960s—but they also gave Cairo and Khartoum veto power over any construction plans or projects that might affect their share of the water.
Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam on the river Nile in Guba Woreda is at the core of a conflict between Egypt and Ethiopia. Egypt is objecting to efforts by Ethiopia to start operating a $4.8 billion dam on a major tributary of the Nile, a hydroelectric project that it hopes will power a social and economic transformation.
The project is regarded by Egypt as a threat that could cut off nearly all of the key sources of water for the country’s rapidly growing population. The country has exerted outsize control over access to the Nile since colonial times. Egypt has accused Ethiopia of violating international law after it received a notice saying that Ethiopia’s dam upstream on the Nile is now filling up with water for a second year.
Good to know
In 2011, a crisis erupted in political and diplomatic circles when Burundi signed the Entebbe framework agreement, an agreement that meant stripping Egypt of many of its privileges in the waters of the river, most notably the right of veto to prevent the establishment of any project on the river outside its lands. But following lobbying by Egypt, the Entebbe framework agreement has not been officially ratified by the Burundian parliament so far.
Thanks for reading
Fabrice Iranzi, Editor in Chief | RegionWeek.com
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