CAIRO: Egypt's Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Mohamed Nasr Eddin Allam, played down a possible impact on Egypt`s share of Nile water in the case of Southern Sudan's succession from the north. Allam told reporters on Tuesday that Egypt's access to water from the Nile river will not be affected in the case of secession, saying Egypt`s share will not be affected in accordance with the international agreements and treaties that govern this issue. Allam added that if anything changes, Sudan's quota may be divided between the north and south, without affecting Egypt. Despite public statements of confidence by Egyptian officials, recent WikiLeaks cable releases suggested that Egypt is concerned that a divided Sudan could threaten its access to Nile waters if the south chooses to build dams and joins in objecting to Egypt's share. Over 80 percent of Egypt's water needs are provided for by the Nile. South Sudanese started voting on Sunday on whether the south should secede from the north, the culmination of a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of brutal civil war. Egypt has since moved to improve ties with southern Sudan, granting money for water and electricity projects and starting direct flights between Cairo and Juba, the capital of south Sudan, Egypt's relations with Nile basin countries severed last year when several upstream states formally objected to a colonial-era agreement dating back to 1929, which allocates the majority of the Nile's water to Egypt and Sudan. Last May, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya signed a treaty that aims to amend the agreement to increase their share of water for irrigation and hydropower projects. BM
