Members of the NILE-COM at the Kinshasa meeting in May (Photo by: Nile Basin Initiative countries)

(The New Sudan Vision) – The nine Nile Basin countries are meeting in Egypt to discuss cooperation in  hope of drawing up a new Nile River framework agreement.

An old agreement between Egypt and Britain in 1929 gave Cairo the right of veto of projects along the Nile that would affect its water share.

A subsequent document signed between Sudan and Egypt in 1959 allocates 55.5 billion cubic meters of Nile water for Egypt, the largest share for any country along the Nile and 18.5 billion cubic meters per year for Sudan.

Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda make up the Nile Basin countries. 

Talks over the reform of the colonial framework broke down in May in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo after Egypt shot down the deal.

Egypt says it would not approve any new agreement that challenges its 55.5 billion cubic meters of water a year and its veto powers over projects it deems to be against its interest.