Uganda and Egypt have signed a military intelligence sharing agreement, the east African country said late on Wednesday, against a backdrop of rising tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia over a hydropower dam on a tributary of the Nile river.
According to a statement by the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF), the agreement was signed between UPDF’s Chieftaincy of Military Intelligence (CMI) and the Egyptian Intelligence Department.
“The fact that Uganda and Egypt share the Nile, cooperation between the two countries is inevitable because what affects Ugandans will in one way or other affect Egypt,” Maj. Gen. Sameh Saber El-Degwi, a top Egyptian intelligence official who headed Cairo’s delegation to Kampala, was quoted in the UPDF statement as saying.
Abel Kandiho, Uganda’s military intelligence chief, said the agreement will see both countries share resourceful intelligence on a regular basis, which is key to combating terrorism and other crimes.
Sameh Saber El-Degwi, head of an Egyptian delegation currently in Uganda, underscored the importance of cooperation between the two sides.
The Egyptian delegation is in Uganda for a four-day visit.
Ethiopia is banking on the dam to boost its power generation capacity and fuel economic development but Egypt fears the project will imperil its fresh water supplies.
Sudan is also concerned about the impact on its own water flows.
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