In 1929, an agreement was signed between Egypt and Great Britain, which aimed to regulate the flow of the Nile River. The Nile Waters Agreement, as it was called, was a historic treaty that had a significant impact on the development of Egypt and Sudan.
The agreement was signed on 7 June 1929 in Cairo by representatives of both Egypt and Great Britain. It aimed to ensure that Egypt and Sudan received a guaranteed amount of water from the Nile River, while also allowing Great Britain to continue to use the river for irrigation purposes in its East African colonies.
Under the terms of the agreement, a commission was established to assess the amount of water that flowed into the Nile each year, with the aim of ensuring that Egypt and Sudan received a minimum of 48 billion cubic meters of water annually. This was known as the “Nile share” and was based on the assumption that Ethiopia and the other upstream countries would not use any of the Nile`s water resources.
The Nile Waters Agreement was a significant achievement for Egypt, as it secured a critical source of water for the country`s growing population and agricultural sector. At the time, Egypt was heavily reliant on the Nile River for its survival, and the agreement ensured that the country`s water needs were met.
However, the agreement was not without controversy. Many of the upstream countries, including Ethiopia, which contributes more than 80% of the Nile`s water resources, were not party to the agreement and felt that their water rights were being ignored. In recent years, tensions have risen between Egypt and the upstream countries, particularly Ethiopia, over the use of the Nile`s water resources.
Despite these challenges, the Nile Waters Agreement remains an important milestone in the history of the Nile River and the development of Egypt and Sudan. It served as a model for other agreements around the world, which aimed to regulate shared water resources between countries. Today, as the world faces increasing water scarcity and climate change, the lessons learned from the Nile Waters Agreement are more critical than ever.