Nile Basin deal hints at Sisi’s growing interest in region
Presidents Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (Egypt) and Sudan's Omar al-Bashir (centre) with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn (right) in Khartoum on March 23, 2015 where they signed the agreement of principles on Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam project. AFP PHOTO | ASHRAF SHAZLY
The signing of an agreement on the declaration of principles between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the contentious Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam Project in Addis last week, marks a major breakthrough for Nile River co-operation. But it could also be a hint at Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi’s evolving sub-Saharan strategy, analysts say.
Sudan and Egypt first parted ways with members of the Nile Basin Initiative — the organisation bringing together the Nile Basin states — when five of them signed the Co-operative Framework Agreement in May 2010. The CFA replaced the 1929 agreement that gave Sudan and Egypt countries veto powers over the use of the Nile waters.
