Wednesday episode of "Without Borders" program (10/6/2020), the Renaissance Dam crisis continued with its technical aspects, its political and demographic dimensions, Egypt and Sudan's concerns, the validity of their arguments, the chances of reaching an agreement that satisfies all parties, and the possibility of Ethiopia starting filling the dam reservoir next month, as its officials state.
For his part, Mohammed Al-Mukhtar Al-Shanqeeti, a professor of political ethics at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, said that the chances of reaching an agreement have become more narrow, because what was reached today is the fruits of a long strategic path. Ethiopia - although Egypt and Sudan did not notify its construction of the dam - announced it a year ago 2001 she will rate it.
He considered that the error here is not only borne by Ethiopia, but Egypt and Sudan bear the responsibility not to undertake proactive planning for this project and its impact on them. He pointed out that there is a kind of force shift from the north of the Nile to its south. Ethiopia is a prosperous emerging country, while Egypt’s role, which suffers from an internal crisis and external recession, is being reviewed.
The absurdity of negotiations
On the other hand, Ahmed Al-Mufti, a law professor who is expert in water agreements, said that Ethiopia - as it expressed before the United Nations General Assembly - considers water a sovereign matter to act in accordance with its policy, describing these negotiations as absurd unless the construction and filling of the dam are stopped.
Also, at the beginning of the technical negotiations between the three countries, Ethiopia stipulated the continuation of the construction of the dam regardless of the outputs of those meetings, considering that these are clear indications that Ethiopia is acting with individual will, but it brings Egypt and Sudan to legalize what he described as illegal behavior.
It is noteworthy that a trilateral meeting continues between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to bring the views of the Renaissance Dam closer. While Cairo demanded that no unilateral action be taken before an agreement was reached, Addis Ababa seemed determined to implement the plan to fill and run the dam's reservoir soon.
On Wednesday, the irrigation ministers of the three countries continued a meeting via video technology to discuss the resumption of negotiations on the dam, which has become a cause of great tension between Egypt and Ethiopia.