CAIRO -

After a period of relative calm, talk has resumed in Egypt about the Renaissance Dam, in light of talk about Ethiopia starting the third filling of the dam about two weeks ago, as well as a scientific debate regarding the dam's future effects.

On Sunday, Egypt received the US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, as part of a visit that also includes the UAE and Ethiopia, to support efforts for a diplomatic solution to the issue of the Renaissance Dam.

For his part, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that his talks with his Somali counterpart, Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud, dealt with the file of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

During a joint press conference on Monday, Sisi indicated that the two sides agreed on the danger of unilateral policies when undertaking projects on international rivers.

Al-Sisi stressed the inevitability of adhering to the principle of cooperation and prior consultation between the riparian countries to ensure that no harm is caused to any of them, in line with the relevant rules of international law, and the need to reach a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the dam based on the presidential statement issued by the UN Security Council in September 2021. to maintain regional security and stability.

US special envoy

For its part, the Egyptian official news agency announced the start of Mike Hammer - the day before yesterday - a visit to Cairo, as part of a tour that includes Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia.

A statement by the US embassy in Cairo said that Hammer's trip will continue from July 24 to August 1, to provide his country's support aimed at reaching a diplomatic solution to issues related to the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, in a manner that achieves the interests of all parties and contributes to more peace and stability in the region. Region.

According to the statement, Hammer will also consult in Addis Ababa with the African Union, under whose auspices the talks related to the dam are taking place.

US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer travels to Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Ethiopia

third filling

For his part, Professor of Geology and Water Resources at Cairo University, Abbas Sharaki, said that the third filling of the Renaissance Dam began on July 11, and that satellite images showed the storage of 2 billion cubic meters of water.

Sharaki predicted, during a phone call to the “Al-Hekaya” program, broadcast on MBC Egypt last Saturday, that 3 billion cubic meters of water would be stored during the next two weeks due to increased rains, and that the water would pass over the dam from the middle passage. The end of the first week of August.

Sharaki, one of the most prominent defenders of Egypt's position, stressed that the water storage behind the High Dam makes the Egyptian citizen completely safe, but it does not prevent Egypt from claiming its rights, and not taking any step from storing or operating except on the basis of an agreement.

scientific debate

The latest developments in the dam issue come amid a scientific debate between the Egyptian space scientist Essam Heggy and his scientific team in the face of 3 scientists (Egyptian and Ethiopian) regarding the negative impact of the Renaissance Dam on the aggravation of Egypt's water deficit.

This came after Hajji and his team published a new scientific paper in the scientific journal "Environmental Research Letters", which specializes in environmental issues, to respond to the doubts about previous research about the expected water deficit in Egypt as a result of the construction of the Renaissance Dam.

The skepticism came in a comment made by the three researchers: Tirusu Asif, an Ethiopian at the Tampa Water Authority, and the Egyptians, Ahmed Al-Adawy from Mansoura University, and Saqr Al-Nour from South Valley University, who are currently working outside Egypt.

Heggy and his team’s previous study was titled “The Water Deficit in Egypt and the Proposed Policies to Reduce It During the Filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam,” and explained that while the dam provides promising development opportunities for Ethiopia, the changing flow of the Nile River will constitute a water deficit for Egypt of about 31 billion cubic meters annually, i.e. what It is equivalent to 40% of Egypt's total water budget.

The research cited practical solutions to mitigate the effects of the water deficit, which may worsen in Egypt during the years of filling the dam.

The past days have witnessed continuous discussions between the two teams, and Hajji and his team said that they have proven that the allegations in the three researchers’ comment are based entirely on cutting parts and data from 3 specific researches published recently, as well as on allegations from social media and a number of television programs with poor credibility.

On the other hand, the two Egyptian researchers denied that the commentary on Hajji’s research adopted the Ethiopian point of view, or that they were used by the Ethiopian-American Dr. Tiroso Asif, before one of the researchers - Ahmed El-Adawy – closed his account on Twitter, which witnessed most of the controversy between the two parties and their supporters. .

Nile water needs a real scientific discussion away from pressure groups.

We are pleased with our response to today’s publication, which clarifies the validity of our research and the extent of errors and scientific fallacies that have spread in the criticism of our research on social media and television programs that lack credibility.


Interesting reading for everyone. https://t.co/ypcERc6m40 pic.twitter.com/NtmhpH1IQk

— Dr.

Essam Heggy / Dr.

Issam Heggy (@essamheggy) July 22, 2022

About a year ago, Dr. Muhammad Hataba brilliantly summarized the discussion on our comment on the paper of Dr. Hajji and others.


Yesterday the magazine published our comment and Dr.

Hajji and his team.

The magazine acknowledged the shortcomings of your research by publishing our comment and acknowledged the inadequacy of our argument by accepting his response to our comment.


Our comment 👇🏾 https://t.co/pi4OwTohLQ pic.twitter.com/K5aYhh11tO

— saker saker (@sakerElnour) July 23, 2022

The end of the military threat

In this context, political activist and engineering consultant Mamdouh Hamza denounced that the attack on Essam Hajji and his research on the water deficit resulting from the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam came from Egyptians.

Hamza explained that what Hajji and his team had done in proving the damage coming from the Renaissance Dam required an Egyptian participation in the Renaissance Dam by law to preserve it from damage.

The Egyptian political activist - on the authority of the professor of dam engineering, Mohamed Hafez - also quoted the arrival of water to the "Sarg" dam, which enables the concrete dam to store a large amount of water, which means that directing any military action to the dam does not mean only the sinking of Sudan, but also threatens to change the course of the river.

Despite the suspension of negotiations, Ethiopia continues to build the dam unilaterally, while Egypt and Sudan adhere to reaching a tripartite agreement first on filling and operating the dam to ensure the continued flow of their annual share of the Nile water, while Ethiopia asserts that it seeks to remedy its energy shortage crisis.

Egypt and Sudan have exchanged 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.