With the aim of intensifying bilateral ties of friendship and cooperation, further strengthening their bilateral relations, developing and expanding their cooperation framework, the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt signed the Cultural, Technical and Scientific Cooperation Agreement on April 16, 1973 in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt. This cooperation between States is part of the traditional diplomacy of States. The latter is a framework and instrument of trade negotiations, where the State participates in the protection and enhancement of the public and private interests of a nation.

It is in this line that Burundi, convinced of the principles and objectives of the African Union on one hand, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on another hand, committed itself to a South-South cooperation, which aims at promoting regional dialogue on the main political and institutional aspects that can enable South-South cooperation in Africa and contribute to regional reintegration and intra-African partnerships for the 2030 UN and 2063 African Union agendas.

In order to further strengthening this partnership, high-level visits are made by Heads of States and Governments during which Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding are signed. It is in this perspective that from 23 to 26 March 2021, His Excellency Mr. Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE, President of the Republic of Burundi, paid an official visit to Cairo, in the Arab Republic of Egypt, during which sectoral Cooperation Agreements and Memoranda of Understanding, including the Cooperation Agreement for the Implementation of the Integrated Water Resources Management Project in Burundi, were signed on March 24, 2021, between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

By ratifying this Agreement, Burundi will have contributed to the implementation of the Cultural, Technical and Scientific Cooperation Agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Burundi and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, in order to serve the interest of the two brotherly peoples.

It is within this framework that the National Assembly met in plenary on Wednesday January 12, 2022 to analyse and adopt the ratification bill of that cooperation agreement. Burundi having the southernmost source of Nile, supplies water to Egypt and this in return will provide Burundi with projects aiming at protecting and managing its water resources.

The Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Dr. Déo Guide Rurema was invited to the Congress Palace in Kigobe to present the explanatory statement and answer questions from MPs on the bill. By the equitable management of all water resources in Burundi, one must understand the benefits to be shared by the two brotherly countries in a win-win context. In this agreement, Egypt will provide technical support for the construction of dams whose source is the rainwater from houses rooftops, the channeling and retention of run-off water to protect infrastructures, properties and people in threatened sites. This water will be directed towards the development of hill irrigation, urban irrigation where there is space to increase production throughout the year.

The Members of Parliament raised concerns are mainly based on the fact that it is Egypt that initiated these agreements, the interests of Egypt might be far superior to those of Burundi, to which the Minister reassured the audience that it is a win-win partnership.
After deep and exhaustive analysis, this bill was adopted with the following score:
YES: 80 votes/110 or 72.7%;
NO: 0 votes/110 or 0%;
ABSTENTION: 30 votes/110 or 27.2%.