In the 1960s, the independent countries of the Niger Basin decided to coordinate their efforts in order to exploit the natural resources of the basin, among which water is the first.
The Niamey Act related to Navigation and economic Cooperation between the countries of the Niger Basin was signed on October 26, 1963 and was replaced by Niamey Agreement related to the River Niger Commission and to Navigation and transportation on the Niger River which was signed on November 25, 1964. The Commission of the Niger River was renamed the Niger Basin Authority on November 21, 1980.

The member Countries are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad.

Mission : The NBA is an inter-governmental organization responsible for promoting cooperation amongst Member states and contributing to improve the living conditions of the basin populations through sustainable management of water resources and associated ecosystems

Vision : The NBA has the ambition to be recognized as an and transparent , appreciated for its capacities to reinforce the solidarity between the Member States and to generate some benefits that affect the populations.

Values : Commitment- Impartiality - Transparency and integrity Professionalism Team spirit.

The legal framework :
The legal framework is constituted by some statutory texts among which the main ones are :
- The revised Convention on the creation of the Niger Basin Authority on October 29, 1987;
- The Agreement of Headquarters between the Government of the Republic of Niger and the Niger Basin Authority on September 1982 to facilitate the execution of the missions assigned to the NBA and set the privileges and immunities granted to the Authority and to its staff;
- The Improved Status of the Personnel;
- The Internal Regulations and the Code of Ethics;
- Books of Account and Financial Procedures;
- The Financial Settlement;
- The rules for signing contracts ;
- The Water Charter of the Niger Basin;
- Annex 1 of the Water Charter on the protection of the Environment.

The Institutional Framework :
Is composed of the statutory organs of the Niger Basin Authority which are:
- The Summit of the Heads of State and Government;
- The Council of Ministers supported by the Technical Committee of Experts;
- The Executive Secretariat ;
- The National Focal Structure.

The competencies and the modalities of the functioning of each of these organs are set by the Revised Convention on the creation of NBA.

Headquarters: Niamey--Niger