Cairo has conveyed a firm message to Adis Abbaba stressing its resolve to protect its “water interests,” while receiving Jordanian support in its attempts to conclude a final agreement.
This came on the eve of a mini-African summit (Tuesday) to discuss means of bridging the gap between Egypt and Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) conflict.
Talks over the past two weeks, under the African Union auspices and the presence of African, European, and American observers, have failed to achieve any significant progress.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi chaired Sunday a meeting of the National Defense Council to review the political, security and military situation in the country.
According to presidential spokesman Bassam Radi, Sisi was briefed on the latest developments in the GERD issue, the current course of tripartite negotiations, and efforts to develop a comprehensive agreement that meets aspirations and demands of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia in developing and maintaining fair and balanced water rights.
The Council affirmed Egypt’s ongoing work to reach a comprehensive agreement on the outstanding issues, the most important of which is the rules for filling and operating the GERD without affecting the three countries’ water and development interests or undermining regional security and stability.
The high-level meeting was attended by the parliament speaker, the prime minister, the defense minister, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, head of the General Intelligence, ministers of foreign affairs, finance, and interior, commander of the Naval Forces, commander of the Air Defense Forces, commander of the Air Force, directors of the Armed Forces Operations Authority, Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department, as well as the Council’s secretary-general.
Egypt and Sudan have been seeking to reach a legally binding agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam before Ethiopia starts filling its reservoir. They have repeatedly announced rejection to Ethiopia's “unilateral” intention to fill the dam reservoir without signing a comprehensive final agreement.
Ethiopia says the $4 billion hydropower project, which will have an installed capacity of 6,450 megawatts, is essential to its economic development.
It says the dam offers a critical opportunity to pull millions of its nearly 110 million citizens out of poverty.
While downstream Egypt, which depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and a booming population of 100 million with freshwater, asserts that the dam poses an existential threat.
Meanwhile, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi hailed Egypt’s “rational stance” and affirmed that its water security is part of the Arab strategic security.
This came during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, who visited Amman on Sunday and was received by Jordan’s King Abdullah II.
“Egypt and Jordan’s security is linked,” Safadi stressed, noting the Kingdom’s support for its brothers in Egypt under the guidance of King Abdullah to face all the challenges.
