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Donor community supports poverty reduction, prosperity and peace through the Nile Basin Initiative: Expresses $140 million in initial aid

News Release No: 2001/411/S
GENEVA, June 28, 2001--The International Consortium for Cooperation on the Nile (ICCON) held its first meeting June 26-28, 2001 in Geneva, bringing together the international donor community and NGOs in support of the Nile Basin Initiative - a cooperative program to address poverty, environmental degradation and instability in the Nile Basin. The Consortium is led by the Nile Council of Ministers which includes the Ministers of Water Affairs of all ten countries that are bound together by the River Nile: Burundi, D.R. Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. The meeting was also attended by some Ministers of Finance and Planning. The ICCON is a forum for dialogue on the options and opportunities for management and development of the Nile Basin.

The ICCON was launched by the Chairman of the Nile Council of Ministers on June 26 with an invited keynote address by James D. Wolfensohn, President of the World Bank, and statements of support from the United Nations Development Programme, the Canadian International Development Agency, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility and a coalition of interested NGOs. Delegates were welcomed to the meeting by children of the Nile Basin. Through an uplifting presentation of poems, short stories and reflections, the children called on participants to ensure that the resources of the Nile were used to improve their lives and those of future generations. Wolfensohn echoed the theme of the children, and remarked that this meeting was a moment to be recorded in the history of the Nile. These ideas underlay the meeting which celebrated the progress that the ten countries had made in successfully launching a new, unprecedented era of cooperation in the Basin.

June 27 and 28 marked the launch of the ICCON Consultative Group (ICCON-CG), a group of interested donors within the framework of the ICCON, organized by the World Bank at the request of the Nile Council of Ministers. The ICCON-CG was chaired by the World Bank's Vice-President for Africa, Callisto Madavo and Vice-President for the Middle East and North Africa, Jean-Louis Sarbib. The ministers presented their Strategic Action Program to the Consultative Group, a program that includes both basin-wide projects designed to lay the foundation for cooperative action, and two sub-basin programs of investments that will promote growth and environmental management for the benefit of all the people of the Basin.

Delegates expressed their enthusiasm for the Nile Basin Initiative. They also welcomed the leadership shown by the Nile Council of Ministers in tackling difficult issues of poverty reduction, environmental conservation and peace making, and for the vision they have put forward for managing and developing their shared river basin together. Delegates welcomed the contribution of non-governmental organizations and encouraged the Nile countries to continue in close cooperation with civil society and the private sector as the Initiative moves forward, forming a community of the peoples of the Nile. The meeting hailed the Nile Basin Initiative as a new development paradigm of regional cooperation that could help address many of the challenges of the basin. While concerns were expressed over instability in the region, it was hoped that this Initiative might serve as an example of how international waters can become catalysts for cooperation, development, and stability.

The newly-formed Consultative Group expressed strong support for the Initiative's goals, and commitment to working with the Nile states in the years to come. The Group indicated its support to move forward the full program of the Nile Basin Initiative presented to ICCON. The program includes implementation of a basin-wide program of research, capacity building and technical assistance (the Shared Vision Program), as well as the detailed preparation of cooperative, socially and environmentally sustainable sub-basin investments programs in the Eastern Nile and the Equatorial Lakes regions. The first phase of this investment program is anticipated to amount to about US$3 billion. The countries committed continued support to their share of the program. The development partners expressed initial financial support of at least US$140 million to finance the full program. A Trust Fund is to be established by the World Bank for this purpose. Strong support was also expressed to underwrite the first phase of the US$3 billion investment program in the sub-basins, once the projects are ready for funding. The donor partners are committed to work with the Nile states to secure the financing for this phase - as well as for future phases of investment.

The successful launch of ICCON marks a new partnership of the Nile Basin states and the international community, working together to improve the lives of the people of the Nile Basin and promote peace.

Members of the Nile-COM delegation included: Mathias Kinezero, Chief of Staff, Ministry of Land Management and Environment, Burundi ; Banamuhere Baliene Salomón Minister of Lands, Environment, and Tourism, Democratic Republic of Congo; Mahmoud Abu Zeid, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Egypt; Weldemichael Ghebremariam, Minister of Land, Water and Environment, Eritrea; Shiferaw Jarso, Minister of Water Resources, Ethiopia; Katana Ngala, Minister of Environment, Kenya; Bahunde Mivumbi Marcel, Minister of Energy, Water and Natural Resources, Rwanda; Kamal Ali Mohamed, Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Sudan; Andrew Chenge, Attorney-General, Tanzania; Gerald Ssendaula, Minister of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Uganda; and Maria Mutagamba, State Minister for Water, Uganda.

The meeting was attended by delegations from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, African Centre for Technology Studies, African Development Bank, Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, East African Community, European Commission, Food and Agricultural Organization, Global Environment Facility, International Monetary Fund, InterAfrica Group, Islamic Development Bank, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Organization for Economic Cooperation on Development, Sudanese Environment Conservation Society, The World Conservation Union, Third World Water Forum, Uganda Wildlife Society, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, United Nations Environment Programme, the World Bank, and World Meteorological Organization.

Contact Person:

In Geneva/Washington: Richard Uku (+1 202) 438 0441
Email:Ruku@worldbank.org

Sharon Cox (+44) 7990 507 087
Email: Scox1@worldbank.org

In Entebbe: Meraji Msuya: (+256) 41 321329
Email: nbisec@afsat.com

To learn more about the Nile Basin Initiative, visit: http://www.worldbank.org/afr/nilebasin/