After the consultative meeting of foreign ministers

The Arab League calls on the Security Council to hold an emergency session on the Renaissance Dam

The consultative meeting was held in Doha with the participation of 17 foreign ministers.

AFP

The Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said that the Arab countries, whose foreign ministers met in Qatar yesterday, are calling on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency session to discuss the dispute over Ethiopia's intention to fill the Renaissance Dam it built on the Blue Nile.

Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said during a joint press conference with Abul-Gheit that the Arab League may also take gradual measures to support Egypt and Sudan in the dispute over the dam.

Yesterday, the first consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers was held following the agreement reached by the ministers last February, which called for the importance of intensifying consultative meetings, with the participation of 17 foreign ministers.

In a statement after the meeting, the Arab ministers urged the Security Council to “take the necessary measures to launch an effective negotiating process that ensures a fair, balanced and legally binding agreement that takes into account the interests of the three countries” (Egypt and Sudan), the downstream countries, and Ethiopia.

The statement called on Ethiopia “to refrain from taking any unilateral measures that harm the water interests of Egypt and Sudan, including refraining from filling the Renaissance Dam reservoir without reaching an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.”

The meeting called on Tunisia, the current member of the Security Council, as well as the committee formed by a decision of the Arab League Council in its extraordinary session on June 23, 2020, charged with following up the developments of the file and coordinating with the UN Security Council in this regard, which includes Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Iraq and the General Secretariat;

To intensify its efforts and continue in close coordination with Sudan and Egypt on future steps in this file.

The statement stressed the importance of "negotiating in good faith in order to urgently reach a fair, balanced and legally binding agreement on the Renaissance Dam that achieves the common interests of the three countries and preserves the rights of Egypt and Sudan."

The ministers expressed concern about the stalled negotiations that took place under the auspices of the African Union due to the positions adopted by Ethiopia, especially during the ministerial meeting held in Kinshasa on 4 and 5 April 2021.

The meeting also expressed deep concern about Ethiopia's announcement of its intention to continue filling the Renaissance Dam during the next flood season, this summer.

The meeting considered the Ethiopian moves “contrary to the applicable rules of international law, especially the Declaration of Principles Agreement concluded between the three countries in Khartoum on March 23, 2015, which causes damage to the water interests of Egypt and Sudan, especially the water facilities in Sudan, the most important of which is the Roseires Dam.”

The Arab League Council congratulated the United Arab Emirates on its non-permanent membership in the Security Council for the period 2022-2023.

He thanked Tunisia for its efforts in defending Arab issues and working to strengthen cooperation between the Arab League and the United Nations during its membership in the Security Council in 2020-2021.

The meeting discussed developments in the negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file and Iranian behavior in the region, as well as the issue of Arab dealings with the Syrian crisis and how to maximize the Arab role in this regard.

The UAE participated in the consultative meeting of Arab foreign ministers and the extraordinary meeting of the Council of the League of Arab States at the level of foreign ministers, which were held yesterday, in Doha, to discuss developments in the Renaissance Dam issue.

The UAE delegation in the two meetings was headed by Hamad Saeed Al Shamsi, the country's ambassador to Egypt and its permanent representative to the Arab League.

In turn, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry affirmed yesterday that the Renaissance Dam negotiations with the Ethiopian side have faltered, and the Ethiopians are intransigent towards any initiatives or proposals to solve this issue.

Shoukry said before the meeting of the extraordinary session of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level held in the Qatari capital, Doha, to discuss the issue of the Renaissance Dam: “For ten years, Egypt and Sudan have engaged in strenuous negotiations with the Ethiopian side, and we are still moving around without making any tangible progress, and despite what Egypt has shown From a good intention to complete a legal, binding and just agreement that guarantees Ethiopia its right to development without infringing on the rights of the two downstream countries, and in a manner that does not cause either of them serious harm.

He added: “Negotiating about that agreement took countless negotiating rounds, in which Egypt showed great flexibility, reflecting commitment and keenness to balance all considerations, and in a way that allows all parties to exit these negotiations and have achieved part of what they want, without harming the other party.” However, the problem lies in the fact that the Ethiopian side only wants to forcibly impose its vision on others, deliberately ignoring the conflict of what it calls for with all the charters and agreements that govern international rivers, and seeking to impose a new reality in which the upstream countries control the downstream countries. And this is what Egypt cannot accept, because the Nile River is a joint ownership, for the countries of the source as well as for the countries of the downstream, and no one, no matter what, is allowed to change these stable rules.”

Shoukry stressed that Egyptian and Sudanese water security “is closely linked to Arab national security, stressing the need for a clear Arab solidarity and a unified position calling for the necessity of setting a time frame for the negotiating process until a balanced agreement is reached. It is not acceptable for negotiations to continue indefinitely, especially with The other party has taken unilateral steps that empty any negotiation of its content, thinking that by its evasive behavior, it is capable of imposing its vision.”

• The Egyptian Foreign Minister confirms the intransigence of the Ethiopian side regarding any proposals to solve the issue of the Renaissance Dam.

• The University Council congratulated the UAE on the occasion of its non-permanent membership in the Security Council.

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