Ethiopia is refusing to accept a coordination mechanism to achieve a fair and binding agreement on the filling and operation of its Renaissance Dam, said Egypt’s Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Aty.
The conflict between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), will likely not be resolved soon according to Alaa Al-Zawahiri, a member of Egypt’s negotiating committee regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
— Emmanuel Kwame Mensah (@EKwame_Mensah) January 13, 2022
“The establishment of a huge dam such as the Renaissance Dam, without coordination with the Egyptian High Dam, is a precedent that has not occurred before, and requires a clear and binding coordination mechanism between them, which Ethiopia rejects,” he added.
He said Egypt has agreed to the construction of other dams in Nile Basin countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia, and does not object to the Renaissance Dam, but is concerned that a legally binding agreement has not been reached. Abdel-Aty added that Egypt meets 97 percent of its water needs from the Nile River.
The African Union is supervising the Renaissance Dam negotiations, which bring together Ethiopia on one side and Egypt and Sudan on the other.
#Ethiopia
— Africa Energy Insights (@EnergyInsights) January 11, 2022
The #Ethiopian government has completed preparations for the start of a production test of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
If successful, the first two units of the hydropower plant will come on stream despite diplomatic tensions with #Egypt and #Sudan. pic.twitter.com/wIBwZzxnJ9
Previous rounds of negotiations between the three countries have failed, with Ethiopia insisting on completing the filling of the dam’s reservoir.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
