Ethiopia refuses to reach a fair settlement in the Renaissance dam crisis – Erm News

The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation, Mohamed Abdel Aty, confirmed that his country faces another challenge, which is the lack of agreement on the rules for the filling and operation of the Renaissance dam, despite the support provided by Cairo to the concerns of the Ethiopian part.

During his speech at the opening of Cairo Water Week, Abdel Atti said: “During the agreement of principles signed in Sudan in 2015, Egypt sought to reach a fair and balanced agreement that takes into account the interests of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, but Ethiopia prevented it ”. The Ethiopian position represents a great challenge for the two countries downstream. Egypt and Sudan.

He noted that “Egypt is the driest country in the world and more than 97% of the water comes from outside the borders. This made balancing extremely difficult and we cannot depend on groundwater in light of the increasing population that has led to a decline in the proportion of water per capita.

He explained that his country recycles more than 25% of its water needs, and we import 56% of our water needs in the form of virtual food products, and climate challenges represent a great challenge, especially in the northern delta, which is the most vulnerable.

Egypt has been grappling with the Renaissance dam crisis, which threatens the water part of the country for some time, and the dispute with Ethiopia has yet to be resolved.

And recently, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reached an agreement to form a government committee of legal and technical experts. In order to finalize the development of a final legal agreement binding on all parties on the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, without taking unilateral measures after the escalation of the crisis between the parties, in recent days.