Egypt and Sudan have called for more time before the signing of the cooperation agreement among the Nile Basin countries.
However, other member countries have insisted that they are ready to sign the agreement.
Chairman of the Nile Council of Ministers (Nile-Com) Nasri El-din Allam, who is also Egypt's water and irrigation minister, said there was no need to rush on the matter since it was "critical and sensitive", and called for more time to reach a conclusive decision.
Mr Allam said Egypt and Sudan had prepared a proposal on water security, which was being distributed to other partner states for their input.
"The matter is with our top political leaders for discussions we are not late. Everyone hoped the agreement would have been signed yesterday, but let's be optimistic that this will soon come to an end," he said during the closing of a meeting held in Dar es Salaam to mark the initiative's 10th anniversary.
Water security is the only pending protocol in the formation of the permanent Nile Basin Commission. Riparian countries currently chair the body on a rotational basis.
Ministers responsible for water from Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Ethiopia and Congo expressed their willingness to sign the cooperation agreement by February next year as stipulated in the framework without any further delay.
Kenya's director of water resources, Mr John Rao Nyaoro, urged Nile Basin countries to be more practical and strive to sign the agreement by next February.
Water and Irrigation minister Mark Mwandosya said negative perceptions were holding back the signing of the agreement among the Nile Basin countries.
"We have made a lot of progress on the structure of the agreement we have the same aims, but different perceptions need to be resolved so that the agreement can be signed in February, he said Mwandosya.
Source:allafrica.com/
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