CAIRO – 24 October 2021: Egypt is ready to resume the tripartite negotiations over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), but with international guarantees and in the presence of international observers, said Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Bakr Abdel-Atti on Saturday.
In an interview with Sada El-Balad T.V. channel, Abdel-Atti said that Egypt welcomes Ethiopia's attendance at the Cairo Water Week conference (CWW2021) due to convene on October 24-28. The minister, however, said that Cairo had invited Addis Ababa in previous times without a response from the latter.
Abdel-Atti said that the results of scientific research on the Renaissance Dam are “worrying,” adding that Egypt wants to be reassured that there is no danger to it.
“Egypt will not give up its right to water,” he said.
Early October, Egypt's Permanent Representative at the UN Office in Geneva Ahmed Ehab Gamal El Din said Egypt has been involved in talks for ten years with Ethiopia on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to reach a fair agreement.
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are at loggerheads over the $4-billion dam; Cairo voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters] after Ethiopia started building the dam on the Blue Nile in May 2011.
In 2015, the three countries signed the Declaration of Principles, per which the downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan] should not be negatively affected by the construction of the dam.
Sun, Oct. 24, 2021
