Ethiopia objects to the hegemony of Sudan and Egypt over the Nile River basin, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen said on Friday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th April, 2021) Ethiopia objects to the hegemony of Sudan and Egypt over the Nile River basin, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen said on Friday.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a large-scale project which has been underway on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia since 2011, and is expected to become the largest dam in Africa when completed. The initiative has raised concerns over water security from Egypt and Sudan, with talks between the three countries having reached a deadlock. Ethiopia plans to proceed with the second stage of filling the reservoir during this summer's rainy season in July.
"Neither politicization nor sabotage should determine the policy on the Nile, the main principle should be the promotion of cooperation, mutual understanding, and integration," Mekonnen said while speaking at an online discussion with Ethiopian representatives abroad, as broadcast by the tv channel Fana.
According to the minister, the talks on the GERD can be successful if Khartoum and Cairo "adhere to a constructive approach." He also noted that the disputes should be held under the patronage of the African Union (AU).
"Putting unnecessary pressure on Ethiopia by deliberately politicizing and internationalizing this issue will not force Ethiopia to accept the colonial-era treaty [over the] Nile. Ethiopia will never accept such unfair conditions that are aimed at preserving the hydro-hegemony of Egypt and Sudan," Mekonnen said.
The African nations have held multiple rounds of negotiations but have so far failed to reach an agreement on how soon the dam should be filled and begin generating power. The talks have been mediated by the African Union. Tensions escalated in summer 2020 after Ethiopia began the first stage of filling the reservoir without prior agreements.
Earlier in April, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that no progress had been made during a new round of talks on the dam, held in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in early April. This round was the first under DR Congo's presidency of the AU and the new US administration. The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said the meetings could resume around the third week of April.
