Governments from across the Nile Basin Initiative gathered in Juba on Sunday to mark Nile Day with renewed pledges of cooperation.
The event in Juba carried the theme “Voice of the Nile,” highlighting community, youth, and women’s engagement in water governance.
Representatives from ten member states attended, including Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Officials described the initiative as a vital platform for dialogue amid rising water and food demands across the basin.
They warned that climate change is tightening pressure on a river system sustaining more than 250 million people.
South Sudan’s Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba reaffirmed his country’s commitment to equitable sharing of Nile resources.
He said Juba respects the rights of all member states and supports sustainable cooperation under the initiative’s framework.
Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sweilem called the initiative the only inclusive mechanism uniting all basin countries.
He urged members to act in good faith and avoid premature steps toward a Cooperative Framework Agreement without consensus.
Sudan’s water resources official Elharith Mustafa Abdurrahman stressed dialogue, equity, and mutual benefit in managing shared waters.
He said inclusive governance, empowering communities, youth, and women, is essential for building trust and resilience.
Ethiopia’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Habtamu Itefa Geleta marked more than two decades of structured regional cooperation.
He said governance must extend beyond governments, amplifying voices of those who depend on the river daily.
As speeches echoed along the banks, the Nile flowed on, a lifeline binding nations through shared need and fragile hope.