The Nile Water Agreements of the Colonial Period and the Implications of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam for Regional Cooperation in East Africa

The cooperation among African countries plays a significant role in realising the sovereignty of each state. The objective of this study was to examine the Nile Water agreements of the colonial period and the implications of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) for Regional Cooperation in East Africa. Desk research has been employed in the study. The study adopted the conceptual approach and relied heavily on secondary data. Data were collected from research articles that various national and international publishing organisations have published. Thirty-four (34) selected works were systematically analysed based on the relationship that they have with the title of the study to narrate qualitatively the colonial period's water agreements and the role of the GERD for regional cooperation among the East African countries. The study found that the Nile Water Agreements of the colonial period unfairly endangered the national development plans of the riparian countries. However, the game changer treaty, Entebbe, which was signed among the six East African countries had liberated the Nile River from the monopoly of one state, Egypt. Instead, the treaty is considered as the foundation for the universal legitimacy of the projects built on the Nile River. The study also revealed that Ethiopia has no plan to create water shortage induced crises in Egypt; rather, it seeks to improve the energy sector to provide light and bread for millions of people who are in extreme poverty. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam can be termed as the flagship of a new chapter not only for Ethiopia but also for the region since it has a substantial step towards regional integrated development concerns. The GERD has all the political, economic, peace and security, and ecological relative advantages for the Nile Basin countries. The GERD has played some roles in realising the promising objectives of Pan Africanism. Likewise, the GERD has given a lesson to all the riparian countries that the Nile is for everyone and will be enough for everyone. Hence, the world, and Egypt in particular, should understand the GERD facts and support the development projects of Africans by the Nile River. Besides, the East African governments need to work hard for regional cooperation.