Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kampala (Agenzia Fides) – Uganda and Egypt reaffirmed their collaboration in the administration of the Nile, following the visit of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to the Ugandan capital of Kampala in late August.
Mubarak informed Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni of his interest in working with Uganda to make sure that the rights of all countries are respected in the use of the Nile waters. Egypt has decided to raise 33 million dollars for Kampala, to stop the spread of the water hyacinth in Lake Victoria and the Nile. The plant is of South American origin, but has been spreading in Africa for over a decade and is causing serious environmental problems (lack of oxygenation of waters, causing the death of the fish, etc.).
Egypt and Uganda also discussed how they could complement their tourism industries. Egypt has about 14 million tourists every year and Uganda hopes to create a tourist route that would include sites in both the countries, taking advantage of the Nile connection. Another area of collaboration for Egypt and Uganda is health: Cairo is trying to help Uganda improve its health facilities and fight diseases such as cancer.
On a political level, the two heads of state addressed the accusation made against Sudan President Oman Al-Bashir by the International Crime Court, for extensive massacres in Darfur. “Uganda and Egypt support the position taken by the African Union Security Council and accept collaboration with the Islamic Conference Organization in finding an acceptable position in working towards peace in Darfur, Sudan, and the entire region,” a government spokesman said. The African Union and the Arab League have asked the UN Security Council to detain the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President.
Neither Uganda and Egypt wish to aggravate the conflict, leading to a regional war with unforeseeable consequences. The Nile, which is vital for Egypt’s agriculture, crosses through the entire territory of Sudan from the south to the north before reaching Egypt itself. Sudan is fully aware of Egypt’s concern for any possible situation that could affect the River and its waters in reaching them.
The Nile issue is especially important to all the countries through which it flows. In order to coordinate the policies on its administration, the Nile Basin Initiative was created. The NBI is an inter-governmental organization that includes all the countries of the Nile River Valley: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea (as observer still), Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. However, there are often tensions among its members. For example, Tanzania suspects that Uganda and Egypt have signed an agreement in secret, as to the use of the Nile waters. Tanzania is worried that Uganda is pumping a larger amount of water than usual from Lake Victoria, in order to generate hydroelectric energy. It is a process that guarantees more water in Egypt, but that would ruin the Lake’s ecosystem. For some time, the water levels in Lake Victoria have been lowering, causing severe environmental problems. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 2/9/2008)
