---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 12:08 PM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: South Sudan, Egypt and the Nile To: Group <[email protected]>
South Sudanese will be worried to hear that Egypt wants to restart the Jonglei Canal project. Egypt desperately needs more water, and the Jonglei Canal appears to be the only way to achieve that. However there are serious concerns about the impact of the canal on the climate of South Sudan, as well as its impact on migration routes for livestock and wildlife. At the very least, the Republic of Southern Sudan's government should initiate a comprehensive and impartial study of the impact of the canal, something which was missing in the past, before moving forwards with the canal. John BEGIN 1. South Sudan tells Egypt it will respect existing Nile water treaties March 28, 2011 (JUBA) — The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) assured Egyptian officials on Monday that it will honor the agreements already in place regarding the allocation of the Nile waters. Egypt currently holds dominant right on Nile water following powers granted by a 1929 colonial-era treaty with Britain. Its subsequent 1959 deal with Sudan gave the two downstream countries more than 90 percent control of Nile waters. Under the original deal, Egypt is entitled to 55.5 billion cubic meters of water a year, the lion’s share of the Nile’s total flow of around 84 billion cubic meters. Upstream countries have tabled the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) in 1999 which would strip Egypt of its veto right over all upstream projects including irrigation and hydropower. This was signed by six nations that are set to have it ratified this year by the respective parliaments. Sudan has stood firmly in opposition for amending the original treaty. However, South Sudan is set to secede officially in July after the Southerners voted overwhelmingly this year in favor of independence. Cairo was concerned that this would impact its share of the Nile waters particularly if the South decided to join the NBI. But South Sudan president Salva Kiir said during his talks with visiting Egyptian Prime minister Essam Sharaf that GoSS expansion of plantation project would be within the share of the entire Sudan as specified by the original treaties adding that Cairo need not worry. Kiir stressed that that Egypt is the largest partner for South Sudan and expressed his gratitude to the developmental role played by Cairo towards the Southern Sudanese and urged Sharaf to send more medical and educational missions. The Egyptian PM on his end pledged to support South Sudan and play a mediation role in any differences that could emerge between North and South Sudan. Both sides later signed a memorandum of understanding stating that Egypt would provide substantial assistance and to the South in the areas of agriculture and water use. (ST) END1 2. Egypt says will recognise new South Sudan state Sun Mar 27, 2011 4:32pm GMT * Egypt hopes to secure key Nile waters * Will offer new solution to Nile Basin stalemate * Egypt to connect national grid to east Africa By Opheera McDoom KHARTOUM, March 27 (Reuters) - Egypt will recognise South Sudan as an independent state after it voted to secede from Khartoum, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Elaraby said on his first visit abroad since an uprising ousted Hosni Mubarak. The new government also said it would introduce a new proposal to Nile Basin nations to try to overcome a stalemate on sharing the river's waters, as a seven-minister delegation headed by Egypt's prime minister arrived on Sunday in Khartoum. "Sudan intends to be the first to recognise Juba (capital of South Sudan) and Egypt intends to be the second to recognise the south," Elaraby said in Khartoum. The delegation will visit Juba on Monday. Egypt had pressed for its ally Sudan to remain united to preserve 1929 and 1955 Nile Basin treaties which allocated the lion's share of river waters to Egypt and its southern neighbour Sudan. But after decades of north-south civil war, southern Sudanese this year voted to become independent on July 9. South Sudan has not declared a position on sharing Nile waters but most analysts believe it is likely to side with its east African allies. They have signed a new treaty aimed at ensuring what they say would be a more equitable distribution of the water, worrying Egypt which is struggling to grow food for its burgeoning population. "We will be offering a new proposal to the Nile Basin states ... and we hope to find a solution which will not harm any nation," Egypt's Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hussein Ehsan el-Atfi told reporters in Khartoum. He did not go into details but Egyptian government spokesman Magdy Rady said an unfinished and long-stalled project to create the Jonglei Canal in South Sudan, which would channel swamp water back into the Nile, would be discussed in Juba. "This is still a project -- we spent a lot of money on it and there's still a little money left to finish it," he said, "This project -- if we finish it -- it will provide 4 billion extra (litres of water a year)." "This will be divided between Egypt and south Sudan -- if they are not in urgent need of it, we are in urgent need of it." The two neighbours also agreed a memorandum to connect their national grids, officials from Sudan and Egypt told Reuters. "Egypt is trying to play a pivotal role in energy to be a hub for the region ... now we are going to Africa through Sudan," said Rady. War-ravaged Sudan gave Egypt 5,000 cows as a gift to the new government. (Editing by Andrew Roche) END2 3. Egypt vows to open a "new page" with Sudan March 27, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The visiting Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf said that his country wants to "open a new page" in its relations with Sudan as he embarked on his first trip abroad since his appointment earlier this month. A popular uprising that started in late January ended up toppling the 30-years old rule of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak. A supreme military council led by former defense minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi took control of the country afterwards. They appointed former transport minister Sharaf to form the new government. Sharaf arrived in Khartoum on Sunday in a high-profile visit and leading a delegation that includes ministers of foreign affairs, irrigation and international cooperation. He was received at the airport by 2nd Vice President Ali Osman Taha and later met with president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir. Hundreds of Sudanese and Egyptian expatriates lined up on the Nile street in Khartoum to welcome the visiting delegation holding banners saying "Welcome young leader of the revolution". Sharaf told reporters that he is humbled by the "warmth of the reception" which he jokingly said exceeded the hot weather of the Sudanese capital. He added that the feelings his delegation encountered will mean that they will not let down the people of the Nile Valley. "Today we were negotiating [with Sudan] as one delegation and not two delegations," Sharaf said. The Egyptian delegation told Sudanese officials that they are willing to tackle all issues that have historically impacted the relations between the two countries such as the dispute over the border region of Halayeb. Bashir told Sharaf that there is nothing that prevents the creation of beneficial partnerships in different areas. The High-Level ministerial Committee between Egypt and Sudan held a meeting under the chairmanship of Vice President Taha and the Egyptian PM Sharaf that culminated with an understanding to overcome the barriers of the past and complete the construction of roads and achieving food security between the two countries. Sharaf and Taha signed several memorandums of understandings in the fields of industry, agriculture, information, health and education. The Sudanese VP called for boosting the Egyptian investments in Sudan that he said are currently at $5 billion In a related issue the Egyptian foreign minister Nabil el-Araby told reporters in Khartoum that Cairo will be the second after Sudan to recognize the independence of the South following the referendum results which pointed to an almost unanimous vote by Southerners in favor of secession which will become official next July. "Sudan intends to be the first to recognize Juba (capital of South Sudan) and Egypt intends to be the second to recognize the south," el-Araby said in Khartoum. Cairo had been concerned that the breakup of Sudan will impact its share of the Nile waters particularly in light of a move by upstream countries to amend the colonial agreements that grants Cairo the lion’s share of the river. Egypt held dominant right on Nile water following powers granted by a 1929 colonial-era treaty with Britain. Its subsequent 1959 deal with Sudan gave the two downstream countries more than 90 percent control of Nile waters. The NBI signed in May 2010 by Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia will curb that right. Other affected countries, including Kenya, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were given one year to ink the deal. Kenya signed shortly after the ceremony and Burundi signed earlier this month, the last possible day for signature. "We will be offering a new proposal to the Nile Basin states ... and we hope to find a solution which will not harm any nation," Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hussein Ehsan el-Ateifi told reporters in Khartoum. He did not go into details but Egyptian government spokesman Magdy Rady said an unfinished and long-stalled project to create the Jonglei Canal in South Sudan, which would channel swamp water back into the Nile, would be discussed in Juba. "This is still a project — we spent a lot of money on it and there is still a little money left to finish it," he said, "This project — if we finish it — it will provide 4 billion extra (litres of water a year)." "This will be divided between Egypt and south Sudan — if they are not in urgent need of it, we are in urgent need of it." The Egyptian delegation will head to Juba for talks with South Sudan officials including president Salva Kiir (ST) END3 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor Sudan Ecumenical Forum [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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