Egypt supports South Sudan to secure Nile share

After negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam failed to reach a clear agreement to reduce the potential negative effects on Egyptian water security, Cairo opted for strong political and technical moves to earn the trust of South Sudan. In addition to providing the new state with further support, Egypt hopes to secure its interests in the Nile's water, which comes from the equatorial lakes and passes through South Sudan’s territory.

Egypt had received the head of state of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, on Nov. 20, in his first visit to Cairo, during which a number of cooperation agreements were signed. Chief among these are the deals for the joint management of the Nile water between Cairo and Juba.

The agreement between Cairo and Juba on water management includes articles setting rules and mechanisms for cooperation between the two parties. The agreement provides for the establishment of an Egyptian-South Sudanese joint body tasked with the management of the Nile water. It also stipulates the dispatching of a permanent Egyptian irrigation mission to South Sudan, the setting of standards for the Nile water levels in South Sudan and the development of a mechanism to manage the waste water from Bahr el-Ghazal and facilitate the river's flow and stop its squandering.

Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Hossam Maghazi told Al-Monitor, “The new cooperation agreement offers benefits and interests to both parties, as it is the first time a legal agreement has been signed to manage the Nile water issue between Cairo and Juba.” He explained, “Our primary goal is to develop water resources in the South Sudan state and develop a joint cooperation strategy that would preserve the historic right of Egypt and the development right of the Nile population,” adding, “We are well aware that the cooperation relations with South Sudan are of a special importance an nature.”