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Ethiopia has hired a US lobbying firm, in an attempt to intensify its influence with the US administration amid mounting international tensions over its massive dam project on the Nile River.
The dam, titled the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), has been at the center of an international dispute, as a series of talks between the three nations involved have failed, despite meditation from the African Union (AU).
Last week, the US State Department announced that it would cut $ 100 million in foreign aid to Ethiopia, in response to authorities unilaterally filling up the GERD reservoir.
According to documents filed June 30 with the United States Department of Justice, of which Daily News Egypt obtained a copy, the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC signed a three-month contract, worth $ 130,000, with the law firm of Barnes & Thornburg attorneys, based in Indiana. . The filing was signed by Ronnie L. Miller, who serves as the firm’s federal compliance advisor.
Miller’s bio on the firm’s website states: “He actively assists clients in their federal government relationship needs, including advocating for clients’ interests with members and staff of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Executive Office of the President and the Office of the Vice President, as well as numerous federal agencies. ”
“The Registrant will help the Embassy to organize meetings with government officials on matters of interest to the Embassy, and will assist in the strategic planning and defense of those interests,” the documentation indicates. Barnes & Thornburg partner Craig Burkhardt is the only registered agent on the account.
The lobbying contract comes as Ethiopia faces multiple internal and external challenges, most notably the GERD dispute and ethnic violence in its largest province, Oromia, following the assassination of prominent Oromo singer Hachalu Hundessa.
The country is also grappling with a fairly public dispute between its prime minister Abiy Ahmed and the ruling party regarding the strategically important region of Tigray.
Ahmed’s government has been criticized for postponing the long-awaited elections until next year, out of concerns over the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The decision was challenged by the Tigray regional government, which decided to go ahead with organizing its own elections for its parliament on Wednesday.
Along with these domestic problems, Ethiopia faces heightened tensions with its downstream Nile neighbors Egypt and Sudan over the filling of the disputed Blue Nile dam.
US President Donald Trump has tried to negotiate a three-way agreement, an agreement that failed when Ethiopia refused to sign.
Subsequently, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the filling of the dam “should not be done without an agreement.” [between the three countries].
On July 15, talks between the Water and Irrigation Ministers of the three countries involved in the talks, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, resumed under the supervision of the AU. Ethiopia, however, announced that it started the first phase of filling the dam with 4.9 billion cubic meters of water in early July. due to the start of the rainy season in the area.
The measure was rejected by Egypt, which relies on the Nile River for 90% of its water needs, and remains concerned that GERD will reduce its share of the river’s water. He has argued that the project is likely to cause harm to its people, and that water shortages are already a problem in Egypt.
The AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government has urged Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to work quickly, with the support of AU experts and observers, to finalize a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD. However, Ethiopia said it was unwilling to sign any legally binding water agreements.
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