Nile Basin States Call for Closer CooperationThe Council of Ministers in the Nile Basin Countries have expressed their desire to see tangible results of cooperation which suit the needs of the member states.The ministers said in a joint statement carried by local newspapers on Saturday that they wanted the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) project to address common problems such as poverty eradication and drought. The meeting was held in Khartoum, the Sudan, last week in a bid to strengthen cooperation that would achieve sustainable development through equitable utilization of Nile water resources. Tanzanian Minister of Water Musa Nkangaa stressed the urgent need for all the countries to better utilize the opportunity to transform the region so as to achieve economic growth and reverse environmental degradation. Most proposed projects at the meeting were related to the initiation of hydroelectric power schemes in water falls in the area, environmental conservation and irrigation. The meeting was attended by ministers of water from Tanzania, Ethiopia, Rwanda, the Sudan, Uganda and the representatives from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Eritrea, which has not yet joined the NBI ever since, was represented by a minister and expressed its desire to participate as an observer, thus marking the first time all ten Nile Basin countries were present. Major partners in the NBI are the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as well as the governments of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United States. |
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