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Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi warned today that the region surrounding Egypt would experience “unimaginable instability” if the Ethiopian dam on the Nile threatened “a drop of water” in Egypt.
“No one can take a drop of water from Egypt, otherwise the region will experience unimaginable instability,” the president told a news conference in Ismailia when asked about the controversial dam.
“One should not imagine that it is far from Egypt,” Sisi added, emphasizing that Egypt’s involvement in the waters of the Nile is a “red line.”
Ethiopia says the hydroelectric power generated by the dam will be vital to meeting the energy needs of its 110 million people. However, Egypt, which depends on the Nile for 97% of its irrigation and drinking water, sees it as a threat to its water supply.
For its part, Sudan fears its own dams could be damaged if Ethiopia fills the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) reservoir before a deal can be reached.
For his part, Prime Minister Abi Ahmed said last week that Ethiopia “has no intention” of making Egypt suffer with its dam.
“What I want to say to our brothers who live on the other side (in Egypt and Sudan) is to understand that we do not want to live in the dark. We need a light bulb.”
During a conference in Addis Ababa today, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dina Mufti said Ethiopia remains in favor of tripartite negotiations in cooperation with the African Union.
“Ethiopia believes that African problems can be solved by Africans themselves. We respect African wisdom and the current negotiations, which we hope will be successful.”
However, Sisi clarified that he “did not threaten” and that his country “never threatened”.
“But our reaction in case our side of the Nile is affected, it will affect the stability of the entire region,” he said.
Egypt and Sudan have asked Ethiopia not to fill the dam’s reservoir before signing an agreement.
The issue has been debated for nearly a decade with no agreement being reached.
“In the coming weeks there will be negotiations and I hope that we will reach a binding legal agreement,” Sisi said.
Source: skai.gr
