Egypt has expressed categorical rejection of Ethiopia’s unilateral measure to start the second stage of filling the dam reservoir.
A statement released by the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said that Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty received an official letter from his Ethiopian counterpart stating that Ethiopia has started the second stage of filling the dam.
The statement said that Ethiopia’s move is an explicit and serious breach of the Declaration of Principles Agreement as well as a violation of international laws and norms that govern projects built on the common basins of international rivers, including the Nile.
It added that the exploitation of the Nile resources is regulated by agreements and covenants that obligate Ethiopia to respect Egypt’s water rights and interests and prevent harm to it.
The Foreign Ministry has also sent the letter sent by the Ethiopian water minister to the President of the United Nations Security Council to inform the Council – which will hold a session on the dam on Thursday, July 8, 2021 – of this dangerous development.
This development, the statement said, once again reveals Ethiopia’s bad faith and its insistence on taking unilateral measures to impose a fait accompli and fill and operate the dam without an agreement that takes into account the interests of the three countries and limits the damages of this dam to the two downstream countries.
This will aggravate the crisis and tension in the region and will create a situation that threatens security and peace at the regional and international levels.
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