Will Saudi agricultural investments in Sudan leave Egypt high and dry?
Experts say Egypt can’t afford to remain stoic about Sudan’s ever-rising water needs.
CAIRO — Saudi Arabia has been steadily boosting its agricultural investments in Sudan in recent years, raising concerns in Cairo that any increase in Sudan’s use of Nile River water will come at the expense of Egypt’s share.
Riyadh has been encouraging Saudi investors to pump more money into Sudan in conjunction with Sudan’s participation in the Saudi-led intervention against the Houthis in Yemen. Yet internal reports prepared by Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Ministry, along with the Agriculture and Land Reclamation Ministry, confirm that Sudan is already using its entire allotment of Nile water, according to a government official briefed on the issue who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.
