The Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said on Monday that its country’s reserves of Nile water are still in the safe borders, while no date has been set for resuming the stalled negotiations on the Renaissance Dam between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.
Spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation, Mohamed El Sebaei said in statements to local media, that the fact that Egypt was not affected by the first filling of the Renaissance Dam does not reduce the severity of the Ethiopian unilateral steps, pointing out that the high dam stock was able to compensate for the shortage this time, but he warned of the danger in seasons Drought.
Al-Sebaei added that the studies of the Renaissance Dam had not yet been completed due to Ethiopian intransigence, describing recent Ethiopian statements as provocative, undisciplined and irresponsible.
The spokesman affirmed that no date has been set for the expected negotiations despite the recent African summit decision to resume it to complete some outstanding points, and reach a binding agreement between the three countries (Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan) on the rules of mobilization and operation.
The African Union urged the negotiating parties, with the support of African Union experts and observers, to work quickly to finalize the text of a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, which includes a comprehensive agreement on future developments regarding the Blue Nile (a tributary).
On the other hand, the media circulated statements by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry saying that it wanted a "non-binding" agreement on the Renaissance Dam that can be consulted.
On Wednesday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement, the consensus during the African summit to continue negotiating, and the need to reach a legally binding agreement, which includes a mechanism to settle disputes between the three parties.
This comes in conjunction with Sudan's announcement of a "sudden decline" in the water level of the Nile River, the exit of a number of drinking water stations from service, and Egypt's announcement to start a comprehensive plan to rationalize water consumption, in search of an exit in light of continuing differences with Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is adhering to filling and operating the dam reservoir during the current rainy season that started in July, while Egypt and Sudan refuse to add Addis Ababa to this step before reaching a tripartite agreement.
Egypt fears affecting its annual share of the Nile's water amounting to 55.5 billion cubic meters, and demands an agreement on files, including the safety of the dam, and the determination of its filling bases in times of drought, while Addis Ababa says it does not aim to harm the interests of Egypt or Sudan, and that the goal of building the dam is Electricity generation and development.