NILE BASIN COUNTRIES: Secretariat for cooperation initiative set up

The headquarters for an initiative to alleviate poverty through the proper use of the River Nile waters among eight Nile Basin countries was "launched" on Friday in Entebbe, Uganda, the 'New Vision' newspaper said on Monday. The members of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) include the DRC, Burundi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt. Ugandan Minister of Water Resources Henry Kajura said at the headquarters launching ceremony that NBI members were among the poorest countries in the world and should cooperate to enhance development. The NBI is financed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the World Bank, Italy, FAO and UNDP, the newspaper said.