Nile River pact enters into force despite Egypt objections

NAIROBI — A landmark multinational agreement on managing the waters of the Nile River has entered into force -- over the vehement objections of Egypt.

The Nile River Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) took effect on Sunday after more than a decade of negotiations among countries that share the mighty river.

The Nile Basin Initiative -- a partnership of 10 Nile riparian countries based in the Ugandan town of Entebbe -- described the CFA as a "defining moment" in the history of the Nile Basin. 

"[The agreement] is a testament to our collective determination to harness the Nile River for the benefit of all, ensuring its equitable and sustainable use for generations to come," it said in a statement.

But the treaty was signed and ratified by only five Nile nations -- notably Ethiopia -- but not Egypt or Sudan.

The latter two have been locked in a long-running dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a mega hydropower project on the Blue Nile.

Ethiopia considers the $4 billion dam vital to its development and the supply of electricity to its 120 million-strong population.

But Egypt has long viewed it as an existential threat, as the north African country relies on the Nile for 97 per cent of its water needs.

"Egypt will not compromise even a metre of Nile water, and rejects totally the Entebbe agreement," its Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam said Sunday, according to state-linked media. 

A summit of Nile nations was due to be held in Uganda on October 17 but has been postponed until early next year, Vincent Bagiire, permanent secretary at Uganda's foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.

He declined to give a reason amid speculations it was due to disagreements among member countries.

The Nile Basin Initiative says the CFA aims to "rectify historical imbalances in access to the Nile's waters and ensure that all Nile Basin countries -- whether upstream or downstream -- can benefit from this shared resource".

It said the Nile, which stretches over 11 countries, sustains more than half a billion people. 

The Nile Basin Initiative groups Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, while Eritrea has the role of observer.