Sisi Determined to Preserve Egypt’s Water Rights

Arab World

January 23rd, 10:18am

Cairo - Mohammed Abdo Hasanein

FILE PHOTO: Water flows through Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

Days before the expected announcement of a comprehensive agreement between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, under US sponsorship, regarding the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam on the Nile River, Cairo stressed on Wednesday the need to “preserve its water rights for the benefit of current and future generations.”   The three countries, in addition to the United States and the World Bank, reached a week ago a consensus on the basic points of a final comprehensive agreement over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). They will meet again on Jan. 28-29 in Washington to resolve the remaining obstacles.   According to observers, the US wants to announce a solution to the crisis, which could put pressure on Egypt to accept an agreement that does not fully dissipate its concerns. Egypt fears the dam could deplete its scarce drinking water.   In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, Ambassador Amin Shalaby, member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, said that US President Donald Trump, “for personal and electoral considerations, is interested in making progress in this issue, but this does not mean responding to Egyptian demands.”   The joint declaration included an agreement to fill the dam in stages during the rainy season - from July to August and possibly until September - in an “adaptive and cooperative” manner that takes into account “the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile, and the potential impact of filling the reservoirs in the downstream.”   But no agreement was reached on any of the contentious issues, including dam operating rules, drought standards, and the amount of water flowing into Egypt.   Speaking on the eve of technical and legal meetings that kicked off in Khartoum on Wednesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi underlined the need to “continue to work to preserve Egypt’s water rights for the benefit of present and future generations.”   Sisi chaired a high-level security and ministerial meeting on Tuesday to discuss negotiations on GERD ahead of the upcoming Washington talks.   Cairo cautiously welcomed the Washington agreement last week. Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that Egypt is “cautiously optimistic” about reaching a “critical point” regarding the dam.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2096036/sisi-determined-preserve-egypt%E2%80%99s-water-rights