Cooperative Diplomacy, Regional Stability and National Interests: The Nile River and the Riparian States

The Nile River is the longest river in the world covering nearly 7,000 kilometres. It traverses ten countries in Africa, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, with South Sudan as the eleventh riparian state once it acquires its sovereignty. Of the more than 300 million inhabitants in the ten riparian states, the Nile River Basin is home to nearly 160 million people. The interlocking controversies surrounding the utilisation of the waters of the Nile River and the resources therein have centered on the 1929 Anglo-Egyptian and the 1959 Egypto-Sudanese treaties, which have largely ignored the interests of the upstream states. Through the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) established in 1999, the riparian states concluded, in 2010, the Agreement on the River Nile Basin Cooperative Framework (CFA) based on the principle of equitable and reasonable utilisation, the objective of which is to establish durable legal regime in the Nile River Basin. This book addresses the complexities inherent in the colonial and post-colonial treaties and agreements and their implications for the interests of the riparian states and the region in general. It is the first book of its kind that covers the ten riparian states in a single volume and deals comprehensively with politico-legal questions in the Nile River Basin as well as conventions on the international water courses and their relevance to the region.