Advisory service for the German Federal Foreign Office on a water diplomacy initiative for the Nile
The water resources of the River Nile are shared by 11 riparian states: Egypt, Ethiopia, Burundi, Eritrea, DR Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. These countries have negotiated a Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) on the Nile, although in 2010 this had not been signed by all 11 states. In particular, rules still need to be clarified for the allocation of water between the up-river and down-river states. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing regarding the filling and operation of the large Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, currently being built by Ethiopia.
Conflict over the waters of the Nile could threaten the stability of the region. Against this backdrop and in interaction with the EU Water Diplomacy initiative, the German Federal Foreign Office (AA) has decided to explore the possibility of a more active role in the resolution of the political conflict. The objectives of this project are therefore to elaborate options for the AA to involve itself in a negotiated resolution of the water conflict and to identify the parameters of a coherent strategy for the overall German engagement in the Nile Basin.
The advisory project aims to identify a specific contribution the AA can make to supplement ongoing German development cooperation in the Nile Basin, while exploring ways for using that contribution coherently in support of the political process and cooperation throughout the region.