Parl’t urges int’l community to adopt more positive stance on Ethiopia dam issue

Addressing a plenary session of the Egyptian parliament on Sunday, Speaker Hanafi Gebali has voiced support for wise steps by the political leadership and state institutions to protect the genuine and historical rights of Egyptians to the Nile water.
He said that all parties have full confidence in the political leadership and the way it is handling the crisis of Ethiopia’s dam.
Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri’s speech at the UN Security Council reflected the Egyptian stance regarding such crucial case, the speaker added.
“The Egyptian state is facing a challenge as Ethiopia starts the second filling of the dam on the Blue Nile without coordination with the downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan,” Gebali told MPs.
He also referred to efforts made by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and state institutions concerned to make clear the just Egyptian stance aimed to protect Egypt’s water rights and security.
Egypt has never opposed rights of African countries to development, but it rejects attempts to undermine its water rights, Gebali stressed.
Egypt has adopted a balanced and just stance based on the principles of international law in the face of Ethiopia’s unjustified, obstinate behaviour, which the parliament speaker categorically rejected because of its negative impact on Egypt’s water security.
Gebali also called on the Pan-African Parliament to live up to its responsibilities in helping reach a just settlement that takes into consideration interests of all three countries, stressing this should also prevent regional tension and conflicts triggered by the negative Ethiopian behaviour.