Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry reaffirmed the need to ink a binding legal deal on the operation and filling of Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam in a manner that takes into account the interests of all parties during talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York.
Egypt describes the dam as an existential threat because it suffers from water scarcity and receives 95 percent of its water needs from the Nile. Egypt fears that the process of filling the dam will affect its share of the river’s water.
Any talk about the collapse of the renaissance dam is a deliberate deception for your presence.
— Egyptian and Ethiopian local News (@RenaissanceDam) September 27, 2021
The #Ethiopian Renaissance dam will not collapse unless the time is up.#Egypt #Sudan pic.twitter.com/0JdlV0379s
Since 2011, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have been negotiating an agreement on filling and operating the dam, which is intended to be the largest source of hydroelectric power generation in Africa. However, all negotiating attempts have failed.
JUST IN: Egypt and Sudan express rejection of Ethiopia's second filling of the Renaissance Dam
— The Spectator Index (@spectatorindex) July 6, 2021
Shoukry said there is no specific date for the resumption of talks, and the three countries are waiting to hear proposals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the current chair of the African Union.
He added that during his meetings in New York, he was keen to highlight Ethiopia’s “stubborn” position on the crisis.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
