The last head of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, the idealistic leader who accepted the end of communism, arrived in Berlin in November 1999 on a private visit to mark the 10^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. In one of the speeches he gave at the occasion, Gorbachev’s voice was full of sadness.

 The cooperative framework agreement document on the use of the Nile River, or CFA as it is normally referred to, is the first agreement in the history of the Nile Basin which came to fruition with the full participation of all the Nile Basin countries. It is also the first agreement in the basin which explicitly states that the utilization of the Nile should be based on the principles of equitable and reasonable utilization, the principle of causing no significant harm and the obligation to cooperate, which are foundational principles in international water law.