Ethiopian Prime Minister reassures Egypt and Sudan about the Renaissance Dam

The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abi Ahmed, sent a message of reassurance to Egypt and Sudan regarding the process of filling the Renaissance Dam, according to the agency "Sputnik".

Ahmed said in a statement in Arabic through his official account on the social networking site "Twitter": "The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam can be a source of cooperation for our three countries and beyond."

He added, "I would like to assure the Sudanese and Egyptian people that they will never be harmed by the filling of the dam, because it only takes a small part of the flow."

He continued, "In Sudan, Roseires will be more resilient and will not be subject to extreme fluctuations in the flow, so the surrounding communities are assured of mutual prosperity."

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— Abiy Ahmed Ali 🇪🇹 (@AbiyAhmedAli) July 9, 2021

The United Nations had stressed the possibility of reaching an agreement between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the Renaissance Dam that Addis Ababa is building on the Nile River, through mutual trust, at a time when Egypt accused Ethiopia of threatening its existence.

The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program, Inger Andersen, confirmed during a Security Council session held at the request of Tunisia, representing Cairo and Khartoum, that "an agreement can be reached on the Renaissance Dam."

Cairo and Khartoum had dispatched their foreign ministers to participate in the Security Council session, while Addis Ababa had dispatched the Minister of Water and Irrigation.

And Andersen touched on the "foundations of future cooperation" between the three countries, noting that "trust, transparency and commitment are essential in order to reach a minimum agreement."

The UN official said, "Although progress has been made in several fields during the negotiations, no consensus has been reached with regard to some basic aspects, especially arrangements for managing long-term droughts," as well as "finding a mechanism for settling disputes."

However, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry considered the dam an "existential threat" to Egypt, and demanded a "legally binding agreement" for Ethiopia regarding the dam.

The Egyptian minister said that "the negotiating process led by the African Union has reached a dead end."

He added, "Egypt calls on the Security Council to adopt the draft resolution on the issue of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which was circulated by the sister Republic of Tunisia," considering that this project is "balanced and constructive."

Shoukry warned that "if Egypt's water rights are damaged or its survival is jeopardized... Egypt has no alternative but to protect and preserve its inherent right to life in accordance with what is guaranteed by the laws."

His Sudanese counterpart, Maryam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, said that her country "requests assistance" from the Security Council to find a legally binding agreement, without mentioning the draft resolution.

She warned that the silence would be interpreted as a green light for Ethiopia to continue filling the dam's reservoir.

Ethiopia insists that the dam issue does not threaten international peace and security and therefore does not require the Security Council to convene.

Ethiopian Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Seleshi Bekele Oolacho said that the objections expressed by Cairo and Khartoum "are not directed against the Renaissance Dam, but rather aim at stopping the use of water by Ethiopia."

"Unlike Egypt and Sudan, Ethiopia does not have large reserves of groundwater," he said.

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