THE TEN COUNTRIES WITHIN THE Nile River basin have agreed to share its water resources equitably within the framework of cooperation.
All countries have agreed on a cooperative framework and the benefit of sharing the Nile waters for the socio-economic development of the region. Tanzania, one of the ten countries in Nile Basin Initiative, will coordinate hydro power trade in the basin while agriculture will be coordinated by Kenya, water resources development by Ethiopia, applied training by Egypt and benefit sharing by Uganda.
Nile Basin countries are made up of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi and DR Congo. Eritrea has enjoyed an observer status since then and is expected to formally join the Initiative soon.
The catchment area of the 6695km long Nile river covers nearly 10% of Africa’s land surface. By 1995 when establishment of Nile Basin Initiative was commenced, the basin had a population of 140M people which is expected to double by 2025.