Ethiopia on the Renaissance Dam: Our sovereignty is not compromised and construction continues on time

Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nabiat Gitacho said his country would not accept any violation of its sovereignty over the Renaissance Dam project.

The spokesman - in remarks to local media - that the ongoing negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt will not affect the further construction of the dam, pointing out that the construction work is going on regularly, and within the deadlines.

He added that his country was working to tap its water resources based on the interests of its people under the relevant international conventions.

The statement comes after the stalled negotiations between the three countries in Cairo, following the rejection of the Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation Celchi Balki Egyptian proposal regarding the size of the filling of the dam.

Bakli said in a statement last Thursday that the approval of a proposal submitted by the Egyptian government on the Renaissance Dam will turn the dam into a mere reservoir of the High Dam.

He added that the Egyptian proposal is technically impractical, as it is not possible to control how Egypt manages the High Dam, as well as the rate of evaporation of water from it, and therefore will be limited to the Renaissance Dam only to compensate the water deficit for Egypt, he said.

The Ethiopian Minister explained that what he described as the transformation of the Renaissance Dam into a mere reservoir of the High Dam will not achieve the expected economic return from the Renaissance Dam. The proposal is not commensurate with the requirements of future development in Ethiopia and also Sudan, he said.

The Egyptian proposal included extending the filling period of the Renaissance Dam reservoir by more than two years in order to maintain the water level in the High Dam at 165 meters, with the flow of at least forty billion cubic meters of dam water annually after the first phase of filling.

On September 15-16, the Egyptian capital Cairo witnessed a meeting of water ministers and experts in Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, the first of its kind after a seven-month suspension. The last meeting between the three countries was held in February at the level of presidents. Margin of the African Summit in Addis Ababa.