Cairo Warns Addis Ababa Against Filling GERD Before Reaching Agreement
Egypt has warned Ethiopia against filling the Renaissance Dam it is
building on the Blue Nile before reaching a binding and legal agreement on the
filling and operation process.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Sunday that his country is
ready to launch a new serious negotiation process that takes into account the
interests of Cairo, Khartoum, and Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia has been building the dam on the main tributary of the Nile
since 2011, and its Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Energy announced the
completion of about 78 percent of the construction so far.
Last week, it announced the dam is expected to hold 13.5 billion cubic
meters of water in the upcoming rainy season.
Authorities started filling the reservoir on July 21, 2020. However, the
completion of the first filling phase prior to reaching an agreement with Egypt
and Sudan irked both countries.
Cairo has been seeking through intense diplomatic efforts to receive
international support for its position against Addis Ababa’s.
On Sunday, Shoukry received a phone call from Finnish Foreign Affairs
Minister Pekka Haavisto, during which he affirmed that his country “had hoped
for the success of the African Union (AU) efforts in resolving the Grand
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’s (GERD) issue.”
The AU-sponsored talks between Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Khartoum over the
operation and filling of the mega-dam have faltered and were stalled in
January, despite the intervention of international actors such as the United
States and the European Union with observers.
Shoukry expressed his country’s aspirations to resume talks under the
AU's new chairmanship of Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi.
“The Egyptian state has expressed
its political determination to reach a fair and balanced agreement that achieves
Ethiopia’s development goals while preserving Egypt’s rights and protecting the
two downstream countries from the dam’s potential dangers,” a foreign ministry
statement read.
Addis Ababa refuses to legalize any agreement reached, which binds it to specific measures to alleviate the drought.
