Sudanese water safety and Nile basin – The face of truth – ✍️ Ibrahim Shaqlawi
When the title of this article by Professor Saif Al -Din Hamad Abdullah borrowed: “Sudanese Soucia Water Security and the Nil Basin”, it was the conviction that the title does not only express the content of the book, but that it reduces one of the most dangerous challenges that our country is confronted today. This work, which the author thanked, was published at a critical calendar in which Sudan crosses complex political, economic and security transformations, in a region where tensions intensify around resources, in particular water.
In this context, water safety is no longer just a technical or negotiation file, but has rather become a sovereign national problem which is directly linked to the concept of state stability and its ability to plan its future and protect its interests.
Professor Saif Al -Din Hamad knew thanks to my work in close collaboration with him and witnessed the way he balanced the accuracy of science and the calm of the argument, and the responsibility of the decision and the courage of the situation. A man of the corridors of this file and his accents of the heart of the negotiation, because he was former minister and head of the National Technical Committee for the Nile basin, and led the Sudanese delegation in the decisive negotiations which reached its culmination by signing the declaration of principles between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia in the countries of Khartoum, in one of the most tasks.
In his book, which is located in 257 pages of medium parts, Professor SAIF AL -Din offers a precise complete and analytical presentation of the history, geography and challenges of Sudanese water safety as part of the Nile basin. It does not impose any opinions, but rather the reader speaks of the Al-ALIF site, and displays the legal, engineers and policies that govern the share of Sudan, its relations with the countries of the source and the estuary, the fate of cooperation or its absence in this sensitive file.
The author is a complete space to talk about regional initiatives, the development of the legal and institutional cooperation framework – such as the cooperative framework agreement (CFA) – and bilateral and multilateral agreements. He underlines how the absence of coordination between Pelvic countries increases not only the possibilities of conflict, but also threatens the opportunities for sustainable development and undermines stability. From a scientific and practical point of view, the book connects the growth of water and the population, between natural resources and geopolitical transformations, and between climate and development, to put water safety in its place: as a stone base for any real national project.
The book does not lose sight of the importance of strengthening confidence between countries and establishing strategic partnerships based on mutual interests, stressing that dialogue is the only way to ensure fair and equitable use of water, in particular in light of water rarity, climate fluctuations and increasing development pressures. Cooperation, as the author explains, is not a political luxury or an ethical choice, but rather a strategic necessity to ensure the safety of water, food, the environment and society for all the countries of the basin.
What distinguishes this book is that it deals with the question of water in the structure of the complete state, stressing that any imbalance in the management of this file will be reflected directly on national security. Thanks to what has been stated in the book, it is clear that Sudan does not yet have an integrated national water policy, connecting resources, needs, projects and various sectors. This absence weakens the capacity of the State to negotiate from the position of force and makes its decisions vulnerable to external pressure.
On the basis of my reading of the book and my knowledge of the water scene in Sudan, I find myself obliged to renew the call for the establishment of a sovereign water resources center, working as a higher strategic organism concerning water policies, defining national priorities, leading state investments and unifying the technical and political position. Although this proposal does not contain a text in the book, but, in my opinion, a logical right to what has been said there, and an inevitable procedure to deal with existing challenges.
The book stresses that water is no longer a development problem, but it has been transformed into a file managed by the logic of national security. The absence of a decision on water means losing the development and political decision. The author warns that the low coordination between Pelvic countries threatens the entire regional security and opens the door to conflicts and external interventions, while cooperation and integration of roles are the best way to ensure fair and lasting use of resources.
The writer, if indirectly, suggests the absence of the ministry of irrigation and water resources from the institutional interface after the start of the war, and his departure from the initiative of reconstruction issues and the evaluation of damage, which exacerbated the fragility of the situation. The data also indicates that the internal differences have contributed to the abolition of technical skills and to the reduction of the role of the ministry in a national moment which required a complete presence in this vital dossier.
Continuous management of the water file with the logic of retail, the response to immediate pressure or political exclusion can only lead to sustainable water safety. We need a national water project, armed with science, experience and professional leadership, which is aware of the nature of the scene, its complexities and the future of potential conflicts.
According to the face of the truth, Professor Saif Al -Din Hamad Abdullah is not only a technical study, but rather a daring invitation to rewrite the history of water relations in the Nile basin and to revive the responsibility of the State and society. It is a call to Sudan experts in the field of water to document their experiences and to build a national memory based on facts, and not on political positions.
From this point of view, I call the Sudanese government, on the basis of this vision, to place the water file at the heart of its priorities, as a basic pillar of national security. The country that does not have its water decision has no future. There is no political security without water safety or stability without a strategic vision led by the state with the spirit of planning, and not with the concerns of the moment.
You are fine and well.
