Recently, Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt Dina Mufti expressed that Ethiopia and Egyptian relation goes beyond Nile River. Indeed Ethiopia and Egypt have a lot of things to share. They have a long time relation, historical places of the world’s great religions, among others. Economically too, Egypt is one of the important sources of investment to Ethiopia. It is also important trade partner.
The ambassador’s remark is worthwhile as it puts the relationship of the two sisterly countries on the right place and significant. It is also important to note that it is precipitated by the popular view that the multifaceted relation between the two countries is clouded by the controversy on the use of River Nile especially Ethiopia’s construction of a mega hydroelectric power project called Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Indeed GERD is an iconic project to Ethiopia. As being source of energy, potential for foreign currency and many other economic and environmental benefit many Ethiopians value it a lot. Ethiopians also understand how Nile is valued in Egypt.
That is why the government has been pursuing a win-win, mutually beneficiary policy on the use of the resources. It is also commendable that over the years the government has been working tirelessly with other riparian countries to ensure fair and equitable utilization.
With clear understanding of its right to use its resources, Ethiopia has been working aggressively on the construction of the dam. However, it has not ignored the concerns of the lower riparian and has engaged in the various dialogues intended towards ensuring mutual understanding among them.
As part of its efforts, Ethiopia took the initiative to form a National Independent Scientific Research Group (NISRG) to carry out consultative meeting on the filling and operation of the dam.
The latest development in this regard was that the relevant engineers and experts reached mutual understanding on the filling and operation of the dam. However, the signing of the consensus was postponed upon the request of Egypt to discuss with experts.
However, the Egyptian government has recently come up with a document that contravenes with the benefits of Ethiopia. Hence the government has rejected the document. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs the document by Egyptian side nullifies the efforts and progresses made so far, but it is not going to affect the progress in the construction of the dam.
For Ethiopia this is a very unfortunate incident as it was on the verge of completing the construction of the dam. But according to Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity construction of the dam has already reached a completion level. This is the outcome of the unreserved contribution of the public, committed work of the government. It is an asset difficult to afford any negotiation that opens a chance of compromise.
Now that Ethiopia is successfully concluding the construction of the dam, the remaining work is to accomplish the diplomatic works it pursued in the past towards accomplishing the filling and operation of the dam. It is clear to guess that Ethiopia is in a position to do all the necessary diplomatic work to make sure that the tripartite dialogue between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, resumes so that it maintains both the GERD and the smooth relationship with Egypt.
Difficult to accept any compromise on GERD Recently, Ethiopian ambassador to Egypt Dina Mufti expressed that Ethiopia and Egyptian relation goes beyond Nile River. Indeed Ethiopia and Egypt have a lot of things to share. They have a long time relation, historical places of the world’s great religions, among others. Economically too, Egypt is one of the important sources of investment to Ethiopia. It is also important trade partner.
The ambassador’s remark is worthwhile as it puts the relationship of the two sisterly countries on the right place and significant. It is also important to note that it is precipitated by the popular view that the multifaceted relation between the two countries is clouded by the controversy on the use of River Nile especially Ethiopia’s construction of a mega hydroelectric power project called Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Indeed GERD is an iconic project to Ethiopia. As being source of energy, potential for foreign currency and many other economic and environmental benefit many Ethiopians value it a lot. Ethiopians also understand how Nile is valued in Egypt.
That is why the government has been pursuing a win-win, mutually beneficiary policy on the use of the resources. It is also commendable that over the years the government has been working tirelessly with other riparian countries to ensure fair and equitable utilization.
With clear understanding of its right to use its resources, Ethiopia has been working aggressively on the construction of the dam. However, it has not ignored the concerns of the lower riparian and has engaged in the various dialogues intended towards ensuring mutual understanding among them.
As part of its efforts, Ethiopia took the initiative to form a National Independent Scientific Research Group (NISRG) to carry out consultative meeting on the filling and operation of the dam. The latest development in this regard was that the relevant engineers and experts reached mutual understanding on the filling and operation of the dam. However, the signing of the consensus was postponed upon the request of Egypt to discuss with experts.
However, the Egyptian government has recently come up with a document that contravenes with the benefits of Ethiopia. Hence the government has rejected the document. According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs the document by Egyptian side nullifies the efforts and progresses made so far, but it is not going to affect the progress in the construction of the dam.
For Ethiopia this is a very unfortunate incident as it was on the verge of completing the construction of the dam. But according to Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity construction of the dam has already reached a completion level. This is the outcome of the unreserved contribution of the public, committed work of the government. It is an asset difficult to afford any negotiation that opens a chance of compromise.
Now that Ethiopia is successfully concluding the construction of the dam, the remaining work is to accomplish the diplomatic works it pursued in the past towards accomplishing the filling and operation of the dam. It is clear to guess that Ethiopia is in a position to do all the necessary diplomatic work to make sure that the tripartite dialogue between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, resumes so that it maintains both the GERD and the smooth relationship with Egypt.
The Ethiopian Herald September 21/2019
The Ethiopian Herald September 21/2019
