Face of Truth: The Stakeholders’ Forum and the Nile Basin
Ibrahim Shglawi
In a regional context marked by mounting challenges related to water resource management and climate change, the Third Regional Forum for Innovative Stakeholders will convene on June 18, 2025, in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by the Eastern Nile Technical Regional Office (ENTRO).
This vital event, held under the theme:
“Cooperation in the Nile Basin for Climate Change Adaptation (NCCR)”,
aims to deepen and enhance dialogue among the diverse political, social, and media fabric of Eastern Nile Basin countries.
The forum represents a strategic opportunity to redefine frameworks for regional cooperation, particularly amid growing water tensions and shifting climate conditions. It compels Nile Basin countries to move beyond traditional stances and embrace more innovative models of joint action. Sudan is expected to participate alongside other basin countries, given its geostrategic position and historic role in Nile water negotiations.
What distinguishes this forum is its inclusive and forward-thinking approach. Rather than limiting dialogue to traditional political elites, it seeks to broaden participation by engaging influential new actors, including:
Religious leaders from both Islam and Christianity,
Former diplomats with deep expertise in Nile affairs,
Journalists from key media institutions,
Parliamentarians who wield legislative and oversight powers.
This novel approach reflects a serious attempt to build a unified public discourse that promotes cooperation and mitigates tensions stemming from misinformation or misunderstandings.
The forum aims to achieve several precise political and developmental objectives, notably:
Anchoring dialogue in facts rather than rhetoric, to overcome communication deadlocks that have hindered regional understanding.
Enhancing collective awareness of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) and the Eastern Nile Subsidiary Action Program (ENSAP), and highlighting their vital roles in sustainable development and climate resilience.
Garnering political and media support for regional joint projects, and fostering an environment of shared understanding around overlapping interests and challenges.
One particularly notable goal—highlighted by experts and observers—is the effort to translate technical data into politically actionable knowledge, whether in environmental, water, or geopolitical spheres.
This transformation can rebuild trust among basin states, break negotiation stalemates, and lay the groundwork for comprehensive agreements on unresolved issues.
Organizing such a forum in this sensitive regional moment underscores growing awareness among stakeholders of the need to open dialogue to new actors and avoid the closed circles that previously stalled many initiatives. It also signals a genuine intent to integrate societal, religious, and media dimensions into formal cooperation efforts, thereby bolstering political and popular support for any future agreements.
Thus, this forum is not merely a platform for idea exchange. It is a strategic venue to reshape the Nile Basin narrative through a participatory lens, rooted in the belief that water and climate security cannot be achieved without authentic cooperation and sincere political will.
Face of Truth:
The third regional stakeholders’ forum is more than a dialogue space—it is a pivotal moment in crafting a shared vision for future cooperation among Nile Basin states.
Faced with mounting existential threats, it has become essential to adopt a new approach—one that surpasses political stagnation and reinforces regional understanding as a strategic necessity.
The strength of this vision lies in its ability to bridge differences and highlight common interests not as points of contention, but as foundations for mutual complementarity.
From this standpoint, Sudan’s participation reflects its belief in the importance of active engagement in building trust and laying the groundwork for collaborative development—towards safeguarding the security, stability, and well-being of the peoples of the basin.
Wishing you peace and wellness.
Monday, June 16, 2025
📩 Shglawi55@gmail.com