• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Tensions rise between Ethiopia and Egypt over use of river Nile

Tensions rise between Ethiopia and Egypt over use of river Nile

A dispute over the use of the water in the river Nile has raised tensions between Egypt and Ethiopia threatening to provoke a new crisis in relations as Addis Ababa nears completion of the continent’s biggest hydroelectric project in the Ethiopian highlands.

After talks stalled earlier this month over the filling and operation of the Grand Renaissance Dam on the upper reaches of the Blue Nile, Ethiopia has accused Egypt of seeking to frustrate the project and block the country’s development. Egyptian officials said Addis Ababa’s plans would give Ethiopia unfettered control over the flow of the river — a lifeline for 100m Egyptians — threatening their nation’s already scarce water supplies.

The deadlock threatens to do further damage to relations between two countries with a long history of mistrust. Cairo wants Ethiopia to guarantee an agreed minimum flow of water from the dam in order to maintain the level of its own High Aswan dam, farther downstream, and ensure there is enough water for Egyptian power generation and irrigation. Addis Ababa said Egypt wants to control Ethiopia’s water system and has rejected Cairo’s call for international mediation.

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“Egypt wants to have veto power, telling Ethiopia what it can do,” said Fesseha Shawel Gebre, the Ethiopian ambassador to London. The east African nation has long charged that Egypt and Sudan have divided the flow of the Nile between them under a 1959 agreement to which Ethiopia was not a party. By seeking to preserve the water rights guaranteed to Egypt under that agreement, Cairo wanted to continue the unequitable use of the Nile waters and leave Ethiopia “in the dark”, said Mr Fesseha.

Cairo insists it wants to work out a “co-operative” approach to minimise damage, and that its principal concern was the management of the river during times of drought. “Ethiopia is not offering clear procedures on what to do if we are faced with certain hydrological conditions,” said an Egyptian official close to the negotiations. “They say when there is a drought we will discuss it.”