South Sudan has urged Egypt and Sudan to join the Nile Basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), using the 2026 Regional Nile Day commemoration in Juba to press for broader participation in the treaty on Nile water governance.

Speaking at the event, South Sudan’s water minister, James Mawich Makuach, called on non-signatories to sign onto the CFA, framing it as a pathway toward more inclusive cooperation and equitable use of Nile waters, according to the report. Egypt’s water minister, Hani Sewilam, was also quoted warning against what he described as “premature” institutional steps toward a CFA-only coalition before basin-wide consensus is reached.

The CFA is designed to guide equitable and reasonable use of the Nile River system among riparian states. The Nile Basin Secretariat announced the agreement’s entry into force on October 13, 2024, calling it a milestone for transboundary cooperation in the basin.

Juba hosted the 20th Regional Nile Day on February 22, 2026, with the Nile Basin Initiative describing it as a major gathering of ministers, technical experts, partners and community representatives from across the basin.

The renewed push for CFA buy-in comes as Nile diplomacy remains shaped by long-running disputes over upstream development and downstream water security especially around Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, which Addis Ababa says is key to electricity generation while Egypt has voiced concern over potential impacts on downstream supply.