Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Nazif announced late Tuesday that Egypt is not at risk of losing rights after the signing of an agreement on sharing the River Nile water resources among several states. He stressed that the Egyptian rights to Nile waters "is a settled matter, practical and legal wise." This agreement signed by four of the Nile Basin countries is not binding for Egypt, and does not cancel previous agreements, and the international community supports the Egyptian position in that matter, Egyptian dailies quoted the minister as saying. Egypt is keen on preserving and managing the Nile waters through joint cooperation with the Nile Basin countries. Egypt would implement a presidential initiative to establish a commission for the Nile Basin countries, Nazif also affirmed. The Minister said that Cairo is keen on cooperating with all African countries at all levels, and contributes to efforts aimed at developing Africa, adding that his country will not sign any agreement that would affect its rights to the Nile. The Presidents of Congo and Burundi, and the Prime Minister of Kenya, which are among the Nile Basin countries, would visit Cairo next Saturday to further cooperation and coordination. Egypt and Sudan are cooperating to uphold their rights after the signing of a water cooperation and sharing agreement among Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania last Friday. The signing excluded a number of Nile Basin countries, namely Eretria, Congo, Burundi, Kenya, Sudan, and Egypt. The signing of this agreement does not absolve those states of their obligations under international law in view of previous binding agreements, officials noted. All aspects of life in Egypt depend on the waters of the River Nile, and Egypt's share of the waters is about 55,5 billion cubic meters, which reflects the importance of this issue to Egyptian national security.
