A Kenyan newspaper strongly criticized how the Egyptian government dealt with the issue of Nile water. It said the current Egyptian government pursues the same policy adopted by the former regime, which aims to keep the treaty of the colonial era, giving Egypt the biggest share of Nile water. The newspaper reported Cairo is absorbed by South Sudan's independence especially since the new country controls the largest part of the Nile River. South Sudan demands joining the negotiations of the Nile water treaty after only being an observer before gaining its independent statehood. The diplomatic documents, leaked by Wikileaks, revealed Egypt's disappointment of Sudan's division in 2009 and it feared the effects of such a step on Egypt's share of Nile water. The newspaper said, according to the diplomatic documents, an Egyptian official from Egypt's Foreign Ministry demanded the U.S Administration to delay the 2011 referendum from four to six years. The official said the new state may threaten Egypt's share of Nile water necessary for agriculture. The newspaper stressed many observers expected Juba will force the upstream countries to accept and join the new treaty. This prompts Egypt to re-new its relations with Ethiopia after years of deterioration since the 1996, after the failed attempt to assassinate former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa. Kenya is preparing to host a meeting with the Ministerial Council of Nile Basin Countries on July 28, titled ‘The Nile Basin and the necessity of cooperation.' It is expected the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hussien el-Atfi, will present Egypt's vision about the issue.
