[ad_1]
Source: Cairo – Ashraf Abdel Hamid
After the failure of the Renaissance Dam negotiations was officially declared last August 28, and each of the three countries, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, adhered to their demands and the stagnation of the situation during that period, a new Ethiopian shift occurred that could pave the way for their advance.
The Ethiopian Parliament decided to discuss a draft resolution calling for a fair position in the Renaissance dam negotiations, in a way that preserves the rights of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, especially after the United States cut foreign aid to Addis Ababa in about $ 100 million two months ago.
Washington’s decision to cut aid came at one point, in response to Ethiopian intransigence on this delicate file, which could affect some $ 130 million in US foreign aid to Ethiopia.
This new position by Ethiopia came more than a month after Egypt officially announced the incompatibility between the three countries on many legal and technical points with respect to the initial version of the agreement.
Egyptian reserve
Commenting on this Ethiopian change, Egyptian officials have reservations about responding to this new step from Addis Ababa, assuring Al Arabiya.net that Ethiopia has promised a lot to change its position and show flexibility in negotiations through various means of communication. communication, but stubbornness has returned during meetings. Official, pressing conditions that harm the interests of Egypt and Sudan.
However, the former Egyptian Minister of Irrigation, Dr. Muhammad Nasr Allam, confirmed to Al-Arabiya.net that Ethiopia’s position may change this time due to pressure from the United States, considering that Washington’s decision to reduce aid is a “ pinch of the ears ” for Ethiopia with the aim of reaching an agreement that preserves the rights of the three important countries. To Washington politically and strategically.
Dam of the Great Renaissance (Archives – France Press)
He also saw that the dam file could be resolved among other regional issues that America would like to resolve before entering the next decade, and establish the pillars of stability in the region that is vital and important to the world. By reaching a fair agreement to ensure continuation of US aid, this change is perhaps an attempt by the Ethiopian authorities to save face and justify the change in approach they adopted throughout the negotiations.
Furthermore, the former Egyptian minister stated that he expects the three countries to reach an agreement related to filling and operation in accordance with Egyptian conditions, because they are fair and equitable that preserve Ethiopia’s right to develop and generate electricity and preserve the rights of water from Egypt and Sudan.
From Khartoum … a fishing boat on the Nile River (Archives – France Press)
It should be noted that Egypt had previously announced the impossibility of reaching a common formula, after the end of the last round of negotiations that the African Union convened on August 28, due to Ethiopian intransigence and the stagnation of the situation since then until now. .
The representative of the Arab League at the United Nations said last Monday that the negotiations that were subsequently carried out under the auspices of Sudan did not lead to progress on any of the trouble spots such as filling, quotas, settlement of disputes and the achievement of a binding agreement.
Voltage source
It should be noted that the Grand Renaissance Dam has been a source of tension between Ethiopia, on the one hand, and Egypt and Sudan, on the other, since 2011.
This dam, which Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, which meets the White Nile in Khartoum, to form the Nile River, is expected to become the largest facility for generating electricity from water in Africa.
While Ethiopia considers it necessary to achieve economic development, Egypt sees it as a vital threat, as the Nile River is a source of more than 95% of the country’s irrigation and drinking water.
Over the past few months, the dispute over this archive escalated as Ethiopia continued its work and filled the reservoir, which contains 74 billion cubic meters of water.
Meanwhile, negotiations recently held under the auspices of the African Union between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia faltered due to disagreement over filling and operating rules.
[ad_2]
