[ad_1]
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told the United Nations on Friday that his country “has no intention” to harm Sudan and Egypt with a gigantic hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile that has sparked a bitter dispute between the three countries. Reuters reports.
Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan failed to reach an agreement on the operation of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam before Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam in July. But all three states have returned to mediation led by the African Union.
“I want to make it very clear that we have no intention of harming these countries,” he told the 193 members of the UN General Assembly in a video statement, prerecorded due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“We are steadfast in our commitment to address the concerns of downstream countries and achieve a mutually beneficial outcome in the context of the ongoing AU-led process,” said Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy.
READ: US suspends aid to Ethiopia over Renaissance dam dispute
Negotiations have previously failed due to a demand from Egypt and Sudan that any agreement should be legally binding, on the mechanism for resolving future disputes, and on how to manage the dam during periods of reduced rain or drought.
Egypt says it depends on the Nile for more than 90% of its scarce freshwater supplies and fears the dam could have a devastating effect on its economy.
Abiy told the United Nations that the project contributes to the conservation of water resources, “which otherwise would have been lost to evaporation in downstream countries.”
“What we are essentially doing is meeting our demands for electricity from one of the cleanest energy sources. We cannot afford to continue to keep more than 65 million of our people in the dark, ”he said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed concern about the project when he addressed the United Nations on Tuesday.
“The Nile River should not be monopolized by a single state. For Egypt, the water of the Nile is an existential matter. This, however, does not mean that we want to undermine the rights of our brothers and sisters by sharing the Nile basin with us, ”he said.
“However, it is unacceptable that the negotiations are continuing forever in an attempt to impose the realities on the ground,” Sisi said.
READ: United States stops aid to Ethiopia over Renaissance dam
[ad_2]
