CAIRO: Egypt`s Minister of Finance Momtaz Saeed, agreed to grant 32.5 Million Egyptian pounds to be allocated for the completion of “enhancements” being made the Nile Basin Initiative along the Nile. Saeed stated on Friday that the grant comes within the framework of Egypt`s policy to strengthen cooperation with the Nile Basin states, and “to support them to implement a number of projects.” Others however, argue that the move is an attempt to push development projects being made by upstream countries, notably Rwanda's Renaissance Dam project, into the background. “We know that Egypt wants to make us not build the dam, but we won't be bullied and bought off by money,” one Ethiopian energy official told Bikyamasr.com. Saeed added that the implementation of these projects will be followed up by the Egyptian Ministries of Foreign Affaitrs, Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Water Resources and Irrigation, Health and Population and the State Ministry for Administrative Development. The Minister of Finance said that the total amount of money allocated for the Initiave to 32.5 million pounds, and other financial reinforcements “are expected soon in the coming period.” The Nile Basin Initiative is an agreement signed in February 1999 between the Nile Basin countries in order to strengthen regional cooperation along the river. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/ZEVzs Tags: Egypt, featured, Money, NBI, Nile Section: East Africa, Egypt, Environment, Going Green, Latest News
