Nile River cooperation agreement enters into force despite opposition from Egypt, Sudan

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

The Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) officially came into force on Sunday despite continued rejections by Egypt and Sudan, according to the Ethiopian prime minister.

The agreement establishes the Nile River Basin Commission (NRBC), an institutional body tasked with promoting and coordinating cooperation among the Basin states on matters of Nile governance.

Egypt and Sudan have so far rejected the agreement while the CFA has been signed by upstream countries, including Ethiopia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on the non-signatory states to join the effort, referring to the agreement as the 'Nile Family,' which encourages regional cooperation for the equitable use of the Nile's resources.

The CFA represents the first multilateral effort by the Nile Basin states to create a legal and institutional framework to govern the use and management of the river.

The Nile River has been a source of tension, especially between Egypt and Ethiopia, as the latter began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, a major tributary of the Nile River.

Ethiopia views the dam as essential for its economic development and insists it poses no threat to downstream water supplies. Egypt views the GERD as an existential threat to its water share from the Nile and demands a binding agreement on the dam's filling and operation.