Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shorey confirmed on Tuesday that “Egyptian and Sudanese water security is closely linked to Arab national security,” noting that talks with Ethiopia on the Renaissance Dam ten years ago did not make any tangible progress. stabilized”.
In a speech before a meeting of the Extraordinary Session of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level to discuss the issue of the Renaissance Dam, held in Qatar’s capital Doha, the Egyptian minister said, “Egypt and Sudan have engaged for ten years with Ethiopian In close talks with the side, and we are still moving forward without making any concrete progress.” Despite the goodwill shown by Egypt
According to the minister, his country seeks a “legal, binding and equitable agreement that guarantees Ethiopia the right to development without infringing on the rights of the two downstream countries, and without causing serious harm to either of them.”
Shoukri said that during the “countless negotiating visits”, Egypt “showed utmost flexibility, a commitment and eagerness to balance all views, and thus allowed all parties to come out of these talks without harm”. They got their share of what they wanted to deliver. The other party.” “.
The Egyptian minister accused the Ethiopian side of “only wishing to forcibly impose its vision on others”, “deliberately ignoring what it calls inconsistent with all charters and agreements governing international rivers,” and “a Let’s try to control the new reality. Upstream countries in downstream countries.” Which Egypt cannot accept, because the Nile is a joint property, for the countries of the source as well as the countries of the downstream, and it is not permissible for anyone, whoever he is, to change these static rules. for.”
Egypt relies on the Nile for more than 90 percent of its fresh water supply, and fears it will have a devastating effect on its economy, while Ethiopia says huge dams will help turn it into a major source of energy. and believes that the dam, which has cost $4.6 billion, a source of national pride, aims to lift millions of people out of poverty.
International scientific studies indicate that during the years of the dam filling, Egypt is expected to suffer from a water shortage of 31 billion cubic meters annually, which is equivalent to 40% of Egypt’s current water budget.
If the dam is filled in 3 years, the agricultural sector in Egypt will decline by 72%, resulting in a total loss of $51 billion in agricultural GDP.
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