Ministers in charge of Water Affairs from the nine Nile Basin countries will meet on 13 April 2010 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.  The purpose of the meeting is to harmonize their views on the pending issues and agree on the way forward over the Nile River Cooperative Framework Agreement.

At their last forum held in Alexandria in July 2009, Ministers decided to provide a period of six months to allow for more time to enable member states move forward together.   All the NBI member countries reiterated the desire of the Member States to move forward in the spirit of cooperation on the basis of one Nile, one Basin, and one Vision. 
 
The Cooperative Framework Agreement which is a proposed international treaty currently being negotiated among the countries which share the River Nile – Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda (with Eritrea as an Observer), lays down principles of cooperative water resources management.  If signed, the treaty would pave the way for the establishment of a permanent Nile River Basin Commission.

        

The government of Uganda and that of Japan recently signed a loan agreement to the tune of USD 55 million (equivalent to JPY 5.406 billion) for the Interconnection Power Project of the Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NELSAP), one of the two Nile Basin Initiative investment programs.

Uganda’s Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Hon. Syda Bbumba signed on behalf of Uganda while Mr. Seki, a representative of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed on behalf of Japan.  The signing ceremony took place on 26 March 2010 in Kampala and was witnessed by H.E. Mr. Keiichi Kato, Japan’s Ambassador of to Uganda.