South Sudanese legislatures Friday ratified the CFA, also known as the Entebbe Agreement, this week, making it the sixth Nile river riparian state to do so.
“Fully ratified CFA required six riparian countries which is now fulfilled,” said Ambassador Sileshi Bekele, chief negotiator and Advisor on transboundary rivers and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The agreement established a legal framework for “harmonious utilization of the water resources” by riparian states in the Nile basin.
Ethiopia has welcomed historic South Sudan’s decision that paves the way for the agreement to enter into force.
Juba’s decision, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed mid this week said, was a “historic moment” for Ethiopia that has been pushing for CFA’s ratification for over a decade.
“This diplomatic milestone marks a significant step in our collective aspiration for regional cooperation in the Nile Basin,” the PM said.
“The ratification will provide impetus for working towards the common good of our people through the establishment of the Nile Basin Commission,” he added.
The ratification would pave the way for the birth of the Commission, through which the use, development, protection, and conservation of the Nile River Basin and its resources.
“It is time now for Nile countries to accelerate the establishment of a lasting mechanism through establishing the Commission,” urged Ambassador Seleshi.
The CFA is the result of a decade-long negotiations that the Nile river riparian countries held under the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI).
Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania were the first to ink the agreement in Entebbe City in 2010, followed by Kenya, and Burundi.
All signatories except Kenya subsequently endorsed it after the initiative made the agreement open for ratification in 2013. This week, South Sudan, who joined the NBI later, has become the sixth nation to ratify it, enabling the CFA to enter into force.
The agreement has already been rejected by Egypt and Sudan, insisting on keeping colonial-era treaties-based water share claims – a stand the majority of NBI nations oppose.
The CFA will enter into force 60 days after six countries have ratified or acceded to the document and deposited their instrument with the African Union – i.e. the first week of October 2024.
MG/abj/APA