The Canada-Egypt Parliamentary Friendship Group said Saturday it is deeply concerned about the deadlock in negotiations over Ethiopia’s Nile dam, widely known as Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
It said in a statement Ethiopia’s plan to go ahead with the second filling of the dam reservoir without reaching an agreement with downstream states, Egypt and Sudan, violates the 2015 Declaration of Principles, signed by the leaders of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia and relevant international laws.
The group, which comprises different political parties in Canada, said the Nile water is important for Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
The River Nile, it said, is the only source of water for more than 105 million Egyptians.
The group regretted that Ethiopia plans to move ahead with the second filling of the dam reservoir, overlooking deadlocked negotiations with Egypt and Sudan.
“This poses grave threats to the use of water in Egypt and Sudan,” the group said in a statement.
It called on Ethiopia to refrain from taking unilateral actions that would hinder the negotiations and destabilise the East Africa region.
“Canada can play a diplomatic role in helping the parties concerned reach a just solution to the crisis,” the group said.
