Addis
Ababa, June 4 (ENA)--The Nile Basin Riparian Countries carried out preliminary
activities to realize the development plans of action that had already been
agreed upon, the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) Secretariat said.
Secretariat
Executive Director approached by ENA in Entebbe, Uganda said that the priority
areas of joint development cooperation have already been identified.
The
executive director, Merajio O.Y. Msuya said the secretariat was delegated to
coordinate the riparian nations’ development strategies, particularly in the
areas of water resources, agricultural development as well as industrial and
investment activities.
Msuya
said seven detailed development strategies have been incorporated as part of the
joint development cooperation agreements with a view to ensuring fair and
equitable distribution of the Nile waters among the riparian countries.
The
seven projects incorporated in the strategic action program are Nile
Trans-boundary Environmental Action, Nile Basin Regional Power Trade, Efficient
Water Use for Agricultural Production, Water Resources Planning and Management,
Confidence-Building and Stakeholder Involvement (Communication), Applied
Training and Socio-Economic Development and benefit Sharing.
The
riparian Countries’ council of ministers have adopted the joint development
agenda in the framework of the International Consortium for Cooperation on the
Nile (ICCON).
Msuya
said the fund for the preparation of the development action plans was covered by
the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Canadian
International Development Agency (CIDA).
According
to the executive director, 211 million US dollars was required to launch the
separate and joint development projects in the Nile waters riparian countries.
He
said 122 million USD would go into the Shared Vision Program Project
implementation, 79 million USD for Subsidiary Action Program project Preparation
and 10 Million USD for NBI facilitation and program management, including
riparian dialogue and program oversight.
The
riparian countries are expected to officially announce the budgetary
requirements during a meeting they would soon hold with donor countries and
financial institutions in Geneva, Switzerland.
The
ten countries that share the Nile are Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
(END)