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Cairo - Egypt's access to water from the River Nile will not be affected if southern Sudan secedes from the north, said a top Egyptian official on Tuesday.

'Egypt's quota will not be affected in accordance with the international agreements and treaties that govern this issue,' said Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Mohamed Nasr Eddin Allam.

Allam, who was speaking to reporters from the city of Fayoum, said if anything changes it would be that Sudan's quota will be divided between the north and south, without affecting Egypt.

Egypt's relations with Nile basin countries soured last year when several African states formally objected to a colonial-era agreement dating back to 1929, which allocates the majority of the Nile River's water to Egypt and Sudan.

Last May, five Nile basin countries - Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania and Kenya - signed a treaty that aims to redraft the agreement to increase their share of water for irrigation and hydropower projects.

Despite public statements of confidence by Egyptian officials, recent WikiLeaks cable suggested that Egypt is concerned that a divided Sudan could threaten its access to Nile waters if the south chooses to build dams and joins in objecting to Cairo's share.

Over 80 per cent of Egypt's water needs are provided for by the Nile.

well Egypt would have been more served to have involved themselves a lot more with Sudan instead of sitting by idly

FAH1223 wrote:well Egypt would have been more served to have involved themselves a lot more with Sudan instead of sitting by idly

indeed arab world are forced to accept south sudan wether they like it or not hosni does not like it but yeah what can he do.

That is how the diplomatic war is played.