Egypt rejected any unilateral measure that Ethiopia may take in connection with its Nile dam, including filling the dam unilaterally during the next flood season in this year’s summer, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez said.
Hafez’s comments came in response to remarks by the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson about Ethiopia’s intention to complete the filling of the dam even if the three countries did not reach an agreement on its filling and operating rules.
Hafez said that statements of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesperson once again revealed Ethiopia’s ill intentions and its endeavours to abort the ongoing efforts by international and African mediators to solve the GERD crisis and its desire to impose a fait accompli on the two downstream countries.
This is something that Egypt has not accepted and will not accept, the spokesman said, adding that Egypt has acted wisely and responsibly and negotiated for a full decade seriously and in good faith to reach a fair, equitable and legally binding agreement on the dam file in order to achieve the common interests of the three countries and secure Egypt’s water rights.
However, the Ethiopian side pursued a policy based on procrastination, which led to the failure of all tracks of negotiation tracks that were conducted during the past years.
The continued filling of the dam unilaterally is an irresponsible act and is a clear violation of the provisions of the Declaration of Principles Agreement signed between the three countries in March 2015, the spokesman said.
He added that the filling the dam unilaterally will expose the two downstream countries to great risks, especially if it coincides with periods of drought.
In this context, the spokesman affirmed that Egypt stands by and supports the brotherly Sudan in this file that touches the core of the common interests of the two countries, especially since filling the dam unilaterally may harm the water installations and Sudanese dams that are located near the Ethiopia’s dam on the Blue Nile.
The Egyptian state was committed to preserving its water rights and interests and preventing harm to them in order to preserve the resources of the Egyptian people, the spokesman said.
He added that the Egypt has already taken precautionary measures to deal with the second filling of the dam and limit its potential effects in order to secure Egypt’s needs of water resources during this period. At the same time, it continues to closely monitor Ethiopian actions, to ensure that they do not harm Egypt’s water interests or infringe upon its rights that have been approved and confirmed by international laws, agreements and norms.
