Egypt Renews Adherence to Nile River Water Rights

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed operates a second turbine at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (ENA)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed operates a second turbine at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (ENA)
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Egypt Renews Adherence to Nile River Water Rights

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed operates a second turbine at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (ENA)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed operates a second turbine at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. (ENA)

Egypt has renewed its “adherence” to its water rights, a few days after Ethiopia announced completing the third filling of its mega dam reservoir and the electricity production from the second turbine without agreement from downstream countries.

Egypt and Sudan demand that Ethiopia halt the construction work at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) until reaching a legally-binding agreement on its filling and operation.

The $4.2-billion dam is ultimately expected to produce more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity, more than doubling Ethiopia's current output.

The reservoir's total capacity is 74 billion cubic meters, and the target for 2021 was to add 13.5 billion, a target Ethiopia said it had met. Both countries argue that GERD will undermine their water resources.

The newly-appointed Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Hani Swailem, said Cairo’s vision is clear and seeks to maintain its water rights, while helping other African countries in general to obtain their rights as well.

In televised statements on Sunday, Swailem slammed Addis Ababa’s unresponsive stance towards Cairo’s call for cooperation, noting that he is determined to change it.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced last week that his country completed the third filling of GERD’s reservoir.

“As you see behind me, the third filling is complete,” Ahmed said from the dam site.

“Compared to last year, we have reached 600 meters, which is 25 meters higher than the previous filling,” Ahmed said Friday.

Ethiopia first began generating electricity from the GERD in February.

On Thursday, it said it had launched electricity production from the second turbine at GERD.

Currently, the two operational turbines, out of a total of 13, have a capacity to generate 750 megawatts of electricity.

Ahmed nevertheless sought to reassure Egypt and Sudan over the impact of the dam.

“When we set out to build a dam on the Nile, we said from the beginning that we did not want to make the river our own,” he said on Twitter.

“We hope that just like Ethiopia, the other gifted nations of the Nile, Sudan and Egypt, will get to utilize their share.”

He also called for negotiations to reach an understanding on the dam but insisted the third filling was not causing any water shortages downstream.

In July, Cairo protested to the United Nations Security Council against Addis Ababa’s plans to fill the GERD reservoir for a third year without agreement from downstream countries.



Egypt Reiterates Rejection of Regional Conflict Expansion

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Photo: Egyptian Presidency
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Photo: Egyptian Presidency
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Egypt Reiterates Rejection of Regional Conflict Expansion

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Photo: Egyptian Presidency
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Photo: Egyptian Presidency

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has reiterated his rejection of any “expansion of the cycle of conflict in the region” as Israel and Iran engage in open warfare for a fourth day.

Sisi received on Sunday a phone call from Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, Spokesman for the Presidency, Ambassador Mohamed El-Shennawy, said.

He stated that the call focused on regional developments, and Sisi stressed Egypt’s “categorical rejection to any expansion of the cycle of conflict in the region, underscoring the crucial importance of ending Israel’s military operations across all regional fronts.”

Sisi warned that the continuation of the war will inflict grave harm on all peoples of the region.

He stressed the importance of the international community assuming a more effective role in compelling regional parties to act responsibly, saying “peaceful solutions remain the sole viable means to ensure security and stability in the region.”

According to Shennawy, Sisi underlined the urgent need to resume the US-Iranian negotiations in Oman, which represents the best solution to the current tension.

He reiterated Egypt's unequivocal stance to establish a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.

Sisi also stressed that a just and comprehensive resolution to the Palestinian cause remains the sole guarantor for achieving enduring peace and stability in the Middle East.

This necessitates an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the release of hostages and detainees, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian State along the 1967 border, with East Jerusalem as its capital.