USD 100 Million Fund Established for Nile Basin Water Projects

A USD 100 million financing mechanism has been established to study and implement development projects, including dams, in southern Nile Basin countries, with priorities to be determined by participating states.

The initiative was reviewed by Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam during a meeting on relations with Nile Basin countries and coordination on regional and international water issues.

According to a joint statement from the Foreign and Irrigation ministries, existing Egyptian projects across the basin include dams, solar-powered groundwater wells and stations, river docks, water-storage facilities, rainfall forecasting centres and water-quality laboratories.

Recent projects cited by the ministries include Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere hydropower project, alongside programmes covering flood protection, aquatic weed control, technical training and capacity building.

The financing mechanism is intended to expand that project-based cooperation and support development priorities identified by Nile Basin countries, in line with wider African development and water-security goals.

During the meeting, the ministers also reiterated Egypt’s rejection of unilateral measures in the eastern Nile Basin that it considers inconsistent with international law. They said transboundary waters should be managed through cooperation, prior notification, consultation and measures designed to avoid significant harm.

The ministers added that protecting Egypt’s water security should not conflict with development priorities elsewhere in the basin, while stating that Cairo would continue using measures available under international law to protect its water rights.

Preparations for the 2026 United Nations Water Conference were also discussed. Egypt and Japan are co-chairing the conference’s third interactive dialogue, ‘Water for the Planet’.