DUBAI, 23 September 2003 — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia propose to utilize water resources in order to solve the perennial problem of water scarcity in the region. The problem was discussed on the sidelines of the World Bank-IMF meeting here.
Delegates from all three countries reviewed their positions and will present them to representatives of WB-IMF which will finance the projects.
Director-General of International Cooperation and Agreements of Ministry of Energy and Electricity of Egypt, Dr. Fathima Ahmed Mustafa, said that Egypt would brief the participants about the Nile initiative. Seven big projects are expected to find their ways into the proposal. The projects will be implemented with the help of 10 other countries sharing the same basin in the region.
Dr. Fathima maintains that for the project to be successful, cooperation among the countries of the basin will be essential. According to her, the participating countries will be able to export electricity.
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are also likely to take part in a project called Eastern Nile. Three separate delegations are working on the details to ready the proposal and seek funding.
Dr. Fathima also explained Egypt’s commitment to taking giant strides in the energy sector. She said that the Egyptian government was working to implement 12 such projects and that the projects would be implemented within five years.