Cairo Seeking Binding Legal Agreement to Avoid Negative Impact of GERD

Construction work in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Reuters)
Construction work in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Reuters)
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Cairo Seeking Binding Legal Agreement to Avoid Negative Impact of GERD

Construction work in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Reuters)
Construction work in the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (Reuters)

Egypt has been seeking to push Ethiopia to conclude a binding legal agreement that spares it the potential negative impact of the mega dam, which Addis Ababa is constructing on the Nile River.

Cairo fears the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) would affect the flow of its annual share of the Nile’s 55.5 billion cubic meters of water especially that it relies on it for more than 90 percent of its water supplies.

In a phone conversation with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi stressed his country’s firm position on formulating a binding legal agreement that preserves Egyptian water rights and includes Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt.

The agreement shall define the rules for filling and operating the dam while preserving Cairo’s water rights, he noted.

The African Union has been sponsoring talks among Cairo, Addis Ababa, and Khartoum since July and attended by observers from the United States and the European Union.

For nearly a decade, talks over the operation and filling of the mega-dam have faltered.

The latest GERD meeting was held on Nov. 21 between Egypt and Ethiopia’s irrigation ministers. Sudan boycotted the talks, calling on the AU to change the negotiation’s approach and expand the role of experts.

The ministers agreed to prepare separate reports, including their countries’ visions to advance the negotiations, and send them to South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Dr. Naledi Pandor.

According to Presidential spokesman Bassam Rady, Sisi received a phone call from Ramaphosa during which both sides discussed and exchanged views on the issue.

Ramaphosa praised Egypt’s efforts to reach a solution on this vital issue and called for coordination during the coming period to work on reaching a fair and balanced agreement.

South Africa’s term ends at the end of 2020 and the Democratic Republic of the Congo will take over the AU presidency in 2021.

On Saturday, Sisi also held a phone conversation with his Congolese counterpart Felix Tshisekedi during which they discussed regional and continental issues of mutual interest.



Larijani in Beirut amid Wave of Lebanese Objections against Iranian Meddling

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)
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Larijani in Beirut amid Wave of Lebanese Objections against Iranian Meddling

Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)
Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) and Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani in Beirut in November. (AP)

Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani arrived in Beirut on Wednesday amid a wave of objections by Lebanese officials over Tehran’s continued “meddling” in their country’s internal affairs.

Iranian officials recently rejected the Lebanese government’s decision last week to disarm Tehran-backed Hezbollah in what Lebanese officials viewed as foreign interference.

Larijani, flying in from Iraq, is set to meet with President Joseph Aoun, parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam.

No meeting has been scheduled with Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi, revealed sources from the Foreign Ministry.

They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Larijani did not ask for a meeting with Raggi and had he done so, his request would have been rejected in wake of the “unacceptable” statements by Iranian officials over the government’s disarmament decision.

Last week, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior advisor to Iran's supreme leader, said the government’s move to disarm the group “will fail”.

“Iran rejects the disarmament of Hezbollah and it has long supported the Lebanese people and their resistance. It continues to do so today,” he added.

“This is not the first time that such ideas are floated in Lebanon, but they have failed and they will fail again,” he stressed. “The resistance [Hezbollah] will withstand these conspiracies.”

Raggi, a vocal critic of Iran’s meddling in Lebanon, was quick to condemn his remarks. “Some Iranian officials have gone too far in making suspicious comments about Lebanon’s internal decisions. We will not accept these Iranian practices,” he said.

“No party has the right to speak on behalf of the Lebanese people or claim to have authority over their sovereign decisions,” he stated.

It remains to be seen what Larijani’s visit holds, said sources close to the president. They told Asharq Al-Awsat that Aoun will likely repeat to his guest the “firm principled positions” he continues to uphold.

In February, Aoun met with an Iranian delegation, informing them that “Lebanon has grown weary of others waging their wars on its territory.”

Meanwhile, Lebanese officials have criticized Larijani’s visit, with some demanding that he be turned away.

Democratic Gathering MP Bilal Abdullah said of some foreign visitors: “They should give Lebanon a break.”

“We have had enough of others’ wars on our country,” he told local radio.

In an indirect reference to US envoy Tom Barrack’s visit to Lebanon next week, he hoped that he would urge Israel to stop its violations of Lebanese sovereignty and end its daily assassinations.

Democratic Gathering MP Akram Chehayeb condemned in a post on X the visits by Iranian officials and “their decision to again meddle in Lebanon after everything that has happened.”

He dismissed their remarks as “delusions” and “unrealistic”, adding: “They don’t know when to quit.”

On Monday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the government “must seriously consider calling the Arab League and Gulf Cooperation Council to hold emergency meetings to address the Iranian threat against Lebanon.”

In a statement, he also suggested that it file a complaint to the United Nations Security Council over “Iran’s threats to Lebanon.”

Also on Monday, Kataeb leader MP Sami Gemayel expressed his party's “categorical rejection” of remarks by Iranian officials “because they are a violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty and its state decisions.”

Hezbollah, meanwhile, continues to defy the government by refusing to disarm.

Party MP Ihab Hamadeh said on Tuesday: “No one should worry about the resistance and its future. Even if they try to remove the legitimacy of the weapons, these weapons have preserved Lebanon. The resistance is the party that gives legitimacy to others and doesn’t need legitimacy from anyone.”

“Along with the army, we have formed the golden equation, while the equation of the army, people and resistance will remain,” he vowed.