‘Ethiopia’s intransigence behind dam talks failure’

The foreign minister’s remarks came during a joint press conference with Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn in which he dwelt on the results of his visit to Doha and the meeting of Arab foreign ministers on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Shoukri said the consultative meeting of the Arab League was held at the request of Egypt and Sudan to discuss the dam issue.

The Arab League issued a decision supporting the Egyptian-Sudanese position and the water rights of Egypt and Sudan. It also demanded that Ethiopia take more flexible positions towards reaching an agreement on filling and operating the dam.

Shoukri stressed that Egypt has sought over ten years to reach an agreement that affirms the joint ownership of the River Nile and Ethiopia’s right to development without harming the water interests of the downstream countries. He recalled that Egypt and Sudan made concessions as a matter of flexibility and in order to provide an opportunity to the brothers in Ethiopia to improve the standard of living and achieve development.

The foreign minister also referred to the African track as well as the great efforts undertaken by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, which were followed by efforts by the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, and the failure of the Kinshasa meetings.

During his talks with the Luxemburg foreign minister yesterday, Shoukri affirmed the depth of relations and co-operation between Egypt and Luxembourg and the close coordination between the two countries.

He also referred to mutual interest of the two countries in strengthening relations at the political and economic levels.

Luxembourg Foreign Minister Asselborn confirmed that the European Union understands Egypt’s position on the issue of the GERD, since water issue concerns millions of Egyptians, noting that the European Union will help in finding a solution.