Cairo -
Over the course of the days, the Egyptians' concern about the repercussions of the Renaissance Dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River is rising, in light of the absence of any remarkable development in the crisis since the Security Council statement last year, and the absence of developments in the dam issue from the Egyptian media, except for usual diplomatic statements from time to time.
The absence of interest apparently prompted the former Egyptian Minister of Irrigation, Mohamed Nasr El-Din Allam, to express his concern about the absence of effective Egyptian moves on the dam issue, and to demand "more positive" actions at various levels.
Negotiations for the Renaissance Dam have come to a complete standstill, since the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a presidential statement (15 countries) encouraging Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to resume negotiations at the invitation of the President of the African Union to quickly finalize the text of a binding and mutually acceptable agreement on filling and operating the dam within a reasonable period of time.
"Al-Waxa Dam"
The former Egyptian Minister of Irrigation described the Ethiopian dam as “Al-Waksa Dam”, a common Egyptian expression that expresses failure, and said that the crisis requires greater positive action from officials at the technical, political and legal levels, with various international powers and with Ethiopia itself, with a faster pace, clearer demands and criticism Stronger for Ethiopian politics.
Allam explained - on his personal Facebook page - that the passage of time is in the interest of Ethiopia, and that Addis Ababa's policy is to impose a fait accompli and must be confronted with international actions and moves that prevent this.
Allam stressed that larger and deeper moves are needed at the level of China, Europe and Africa, and put pressure on others as much as possible to change even part of their biased policies, to prevent the implementation of the fait accompli that Addis Ababa is trying to impose, he said.
Britain is working behind the scenes
On the other hand, the British ambassador to Cairo, Gareth Bailey, said that he is particularly aware of the importance of the Nile to Egypt. "The Nile flows in front of my house. I understand that the Nile River is the life of Egypt," but he indicated that his country does not want to impose itself on the ongoing negotiations between the three countries.
And “Bailey” explained, during an interview with “TEN” channel, that there are many partners trying to reach an appropriate solution to the crisis of the Renaissance Dam, and that his country is ready to participate in mediation if it is formally requested to do so, “but we see African mediation, and our role is to encourage partners to reach a solution.” Instead of complicating matters.
The British ambassador stressed that the Renaissance Dam crisis is a subject for discussion in the Security Council, noting that Britain is working to encourage Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan - behind the scenes - to reach an appropriate solution.
Despite the suspension of negotiations, Ethiopia continues to build the dam unilaterally, the latest of which was the announcement by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed, last February, that the production of electric power from the dam began, 7 months after the completion of the second mobilization, which was rejected by Egypt and Sudan and considered it The two countries are in breach of Ethiopia's obligations under the 2015 Declaration of Principles Agreement.
Egypt and Sudan are committed to first reaching a tripartite agreement on filling and operating the dam to ensure the continued flow of their annual share of the Nile waters, while Ethiopia asserts that it is seeking to remedy its energy shortage crisis.
Egypt and Sudan exchange accusations with Ethiopia of being responsible for the failure of the dam negotiations, sponsored by the African Union for months, within a negotiating track that began about 10 years ago, due to differences over construction, operation and filling.