Egypt rejects any unilateral measures that Ethiopia could take in a decade-long crisis over its built dam on the Blue Nile, including Addis Ababa’s plans to fill the dam during the coming flood season this summer, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday20/5/2021.
Ahmed Hafez’s remarks came in response to statements by the spokesman for Ethiopia’s foreign ministry on his country’s determination to go ahead with the second filling of the dam even if the three countries do not reach an agreement on that score.
“The statements by the Ethiopian spokesman reveal anew Ethiopia’s ill intentions, its pursuit to thwart ongoing efforts by international and African mediators in order to solve the dam crisis, and its desire to impose a fait accompli on the downstream countries, a matter that Egypt will not accept,” Hafez said.
He added that Egypt acted patiently, wisely and responsibly and negotiated over a full decade with seriousness and good will in order to reach a fair and legally binding agreement on the dam in a way that serves the common interests of the three directly involved countries; namely Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, and secures Egypt’s water rights.
“However, the Ethiopian side followed a policy of procrastination that has led to the failure of all negotiation paths that were taken over the past years,” he said.
Ethiopia’s continuation in unilaterally filling the dam is an irresponsible act, which blatantly runs counter to the rules of the agreement of principles signed by the three countries in March 2015 and will greatly jeopardize the downstream countries especially if coinciding with drought periods.
Meanwhile, the spokesman added that Egypt supports Sudan in this crisis that jeopardizes the mutual interests of the two countries, particularly that the unilateral filling of the dam could harm the Sudanese dams and facilities located near the Ethiopian dam on the Blue Nile.
“The Egyptian state is committed to preserving its water rights and interests and preventing any potential harm to the existence and wellbeing of the Egyptian people,” he noted.
The state has taken precautionary measures to deal with the second filling of the dam and to minimize its possible impacts in order to secure Egypt’s needs of water during this time, he stressed.
He added that the measures come as the state continues to monitor and track closely the Ethiopian actions to ensure that Egypt’s water interests will not be harmed and its rights, that are founded on international law, agreements and conventions, are not jeopardized.
Source: State Information Service Egypt