More bridges need to be built between Egypt and the other Nile Basin states, reports Doaa El-Bey Ethiopia's recent allegations that Egypt supports rebel groups is a clear sign that tension is growing between the two countries and that the latest Egyptian efforts to improve relations with Ethiopia and all other Nile Basin states are still not enough to help resolve the issue of sharing the Nile water among them. A top Ethiopian official confirmed last week that he had evidence that Egypt recently aided rebel movements in his country. Government spokesman Shimeles Kemal said they have solid evidence that Egypt is giving covert assistance to rebel groups. "We will disclose the timing and identify the groups at the right time," he added. The allegations of Egyptian support for outlawed Ethiopian groups was first made by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in an interview with Reuters two days earlier. He accused Egypt of aiding unspecified rebel movements for the purpose of destabilising the Horn of Africa nation. He also said that Egypt could not win a war with Ethiopia over the River Nile. "I am not worried that the Egyptians will suddenly invade Ethiopia. Nobody who has tried that has lived to tell the story. I don't think the Egyptians will be any different and I think they know that." Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit denied the claims, saying Egypt is not seeking war with any country and that it is not supporting any rebel groups. Shawki El-Gamal, a professor at Cairo University's Institute for African Research and Studies, emphasised that Egypt's relationship with Ethiopia and the other Nile Basin countries is good and ascribed Zenawi's allegations to possible tension or political propaganda. He added that Zenawi himself stated in the past that the Nile represented a factor for cooperation rather than differences among the Nile Basin states. The failure to reach an agreement over a fair distribution of water among Nile Basin states raised concern that the government was not exerting enough effort to establish good ties with African states, especially with Nile Basin countries. However, the government has recently made an effort to improve relations with these states especially Ethiopia which provides more than 80 per cent of the Nile water. Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif visited Addis Ababa late last year with a delegation of five ministers and more than 70 businessmen. The visit aimed at finding means to improve ties between the two states. Abul-Gheit and Minister of State for International Cooperation Fayza Abul-Naga also visited the Ethiopian capital twice this year for the same purpose. An Egyptian-Ethiopian business association was formed earlier this year to improve cooperation in trade and investment. Egypt sends medical convoys to Ethiopia every three months. It also established vast farms to bring up cattle in Ethiopia to provide the Egyptian market with cheap meat, in addition to possible cooperation in electricity and joint electric networks. El-Gamal said that cooperation between the two states could be in many fields and trade cooperation could meet all their needs. "Recently, the Ministry of Higher Education called for establishing branches of Egyptian universities in the Nile Basin countries to boost cultural and economic cooperation." However, El-Gamal added, cooperation with Ethiopia and other Nile Basin states needs to increase until it becomes part and parcel of these states' policies. Establishing joint interests in various fields would help in resolving any problems that would arise in the future including water sharing problems, El-Gamal said. Ethiopia and some other Nile Basin states on the one hand and Egypt and Sudan on the other have been locked in a dispute over water usage from the Nile for more than a decade. The 10 Nile Basin states held several meetings in the hope of resolving the conflict. They failed to get a unanimous agreement on a redistribution of the river waters and administration of the longest river in the world. Egypt categorically refuses any deal that would reduce its share of the Nile and give more access to other countries. Egypt also wants veto power over any new irrigation projects undertaken by the other nine river states. The Sub-Saharan African states have called for new allocations of Nile water to reflect their burgeoning populations and industrial capacity. Failure to reach an agreement prompted Ethiopia, along with Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Kenya, to sign a new pact in the Ugandan capital Entebbe. The five signatories gave the other Nile Basin countries one year to join the pact before putting it into action. Sudan and Egypt have dismissed the new deal while Congo and Burundi have so far refused to sign. The agreement cannot be put into action until at least six states sign it. The new pact is supposed to substitute the 1929 agreement between Egypt and Great Britain on behalf of Britain's colonies which gave Egypt the right to most of the more than 100 billion cubic metres of water that reaches the downstream countries annually. It also gave it the right to veto any new projects or dams to be built by the other Nile states. Ethiopia has built five huge dams over the last decade and has begun construction of a new $1.4 billion hydropower facility, the biggest in Africa. In addition to Egypt and Ethiopia, the Nile Basin group includes Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Eritrea has only an observer status within the group. "The Nile is not the only thing that can link these states. Resolving any differences should be via dialogue and negotiations," El-Gamal added.
