CAIRO – On Sunday, Egypt renewed its call for Nile Basin countries to reconsider the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), commonly known as the Entebbe Agreement, which allows upstream nations to conduct projects along the Nile River without downstream consent.
The agreement, signed by seven of the 11 Nile Basin states—including Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Kenya, Burundi, and South Sudan—has been a point of contention for Egypt and Sudan. Both nations are pushing for an alternative framework that requires upstream countries to obtain approval before executing projects that may impact downstream water flow.
“We urge the signatories of the Entebbe Agreement to review their stance and return to the negotiation table,” Egypt’s Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam said at a Cairo water conference. He emphasized that cooperation should consider the interests of all riparian nations to avoid harm to any party.
Egypt, heavily reliant on the Nile for over 98% of its water supply, views the current version of the agreement as unfair and inconsistent with established international river treaties. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi reiterated Egypt’s firm stance, calling water security an “existential issue” for the country.
Tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia have also flared over Ethiopia’s construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Cairo fears could threaten its water share. Despite years of negotiations, no agreement has been reached on the dam’s filling and operation.
