CAIRO: Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is to visit Egypt on Friday to discuss Nile water issues with the interim government in Cairo. The visit comes as Ethiopia continues to boost its activity along the Nile River, angering the Egyptian government. Zenawi is to meet the head of Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi to discuss the numerous challenges facing the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and Cairo is reportedly expected to voice its concerns over Ethiopia's continued construction of dams along the Nile, which Egypt says threatens its lion share of water from the river. An Ethiopian delegation, including representatives from the Ethiopian Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Culture and Women and Children, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday and met with Egyptian officials. Earlier this year, Zenawi declared Ethiopia's intention to undertake a number of important projects on the Nile. The plant, which would be the biggest investment in the county, will be capable of generating 6000 MW of electricity. Egyptian concerns about water supplies in Egypt and Sudan continue to rise as they refuse to take part in talks on the Entebbe Agreement, recently signed by Nile Countries Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi. The Entebbe agreement would re-shuffle Nile water sharing, still regulated by two 1929 and 1959 deals that allow Egypt some 90 percent of the basin. In order to counterbalance recent construction of Sudanese Merope Dam and prevent shortage in Nile water, the Egyptian government agreed to upend funding the construction of a canal in Sudan to recover swamp water. A meeting between the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and the Economic Community of the Great Lakes Countries (ECGLC) in April struck another blow to Egyptian influence on Nile water exploits. The two delegations signed a memorandum of understanding “to facilitate co-operation in the area of efficient management and sustainable development of the region.” The two organizations represent Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, and Tanzania. BM
