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Egypt Launches Development Projects to Support Nile Basin Countries

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)
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Egypt Launches Development Projects to Support Nile Basin Countries

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) under construction near Ethiopia’s border with Sudan on the Blue Nile (Reuters)

Egypt is launching a number of projects to support the Nile Basin countries and maximize the exploitation of water resources.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced the final preparations to equip the weather early warning center in Kinshasa, ahead of its inauguration next month.

It also dispatched the equipment for the center, and several Egyptian experts will arrive in Congo to install the equipment and start a trial operation.

Egypt experts will train the Congolese staff at the center on dealing with rain and flood forecasts and aerial imagery systems.

Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati announced that the new center is equipped with the latest rain forecast systems and will be concerned with studying climate change in Congo.

The center will contribute to protecting Congolese citizens from probable sudden climate disasters, Abdel Ati said.

The minister pointed out that Egypt established the Kinshasa center to transfer its expertise in the field of the integrated management of water resources to the Nile Basin countries.

Egypt and Congo signed a protocol for technical cooperation in the water resources field, under which the “Integrated Management for Water Resources” project is implemented, said the minister, adding that the project is carried out via an Egyptian grant to maximize Congo’s use of water resources and boost its capability to manage these resources.

Over the past few years, Egypt implemented a number of bilateral projects with the Nile Basin countries in the fields of water and electricity linkage, including rainwater harvesting dam, underground drinking water treatment plants to provide clean drinking water to remote areas that are far from the sources of water, fish farms, and river marinas.

Egypt and Sudan have been negotiating with Ethiopia for almost ten years to conclude a legal agreement regulating the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa built on the main tributary of the Nile to generate electric power.

Egypt and Sudan are calling for a binding legal agreement, that Ethiopia rejects, which led to the suspension of negotiations.

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CENTCOM Nominee: US Needs Troops in Syria to Stop ISIS Comeback

US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper 
US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper 
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CENTCOM Nominee: US Needs Troops in Syria to Stop ISIS Comeback

US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper 
US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper 

ISIS remains a threat in Syria and a US military presence is still needed there to deal with it, US Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper said in his confirmation hearing to become the next head of US Central Command.

The Pentagon has already decided to significantly reduce the number of troops in the country from 2,000 to fewer than 1,000.

But Cooper told the Senate Armed Services Committee on June 24 there is a continued need for at least some presence. And he argued that the complex situation in Syria needs to be weighed before making additional troop cuts.

“Presence is indispensable in the execution of the counter-ISIS mission today,” said Cooper, who currently serves as the deputy commander of CENTCOM, which oversees US forces in the Middle East.

“We have led it. We lead it today, and I anticipate we’ll lead it into the future. Every decision made on force posture is going to be conditions-based as I look to the future,” he added.

When asked by Senator Joni Ernst about the church bombing in Syria few days ago, Cooper said, “We are focused on this problem set every single day. ISIS remains a threat, and as we look to the future, and if confirmed, I will remain nose down on this threat. It is an absolute priority.”

Cooper said the US was right to back Syrian President Ahmed Sharaa and that he was a vital partner in the campaign against ISIS.

“ISIS thrives in chaos,” Cooper said. “If the government of Syria, now seven months into their existence, can help suppress that ISIS threat, along with the US forces in the region, that stability helps create our own security.”

He added, “I think, given the dynamic nature of what’s happening today, that assessment [of required US troops in Syria] in the future could look different than it does today, perhaps.”

Cooper said the US played—and continues to play—a central role in the anti-ISIS campaign.

“The United States has led this mission from the outset. We still lead it today, and I expect that leadership to continue as we move forward, guided by operational realities,” he affirmed.