Entebbe, Uganda | NBI | Ministers in charge of Water Affairs from the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) member states are due to meet on Thursday October 12, 2017 to discuss and consider approval of key NBI reports and plans, among which is the NBI 10-Year Strategy.
The strategy translates the NBI Shared Vision Objective into a 10-year horizon and provides the strategic direction for the coming decade.
Among other things, the new strategy captures the development goals of NBI, considering the prevailing context and challenges in the Nile Basin.
These have been conceptualised into six goals, namely: increasing hydropower development and power trade; improving food security; protecting and restoring water related ecosystems across the basin; The other goals are improving basin resilience to climate change impacts, strengthening transboundary water governance in the Nile Basin as well as enhancing availability and sustainable management of trans-boundary water resources of the Nile Basin.
Other key documents to be discussed and considered for approval are the secretariat’s 5-year basin-wide programme, which will operationalise the ten-year strategy and the annual work plan and budget for financial year 2017/2018.
The meeting will also witness expected changes in the top leadership of the organisation. This is in keeping with the NBI tradition of annually rotating the position of chairpersons of the Nile Council of Ministers and Nile Technical Advisory Committee respectively among the member states.
The meeting, scheduled to take place at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel in Entebbe, will be attended by Ministers in charge of Water Affairs in the NBI member states of Burundi, DR Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda.
Others are members of the Nile Technical Advisory Committee, management staff of NBI as well as representatives of development partners, civil society and the media.