African mini-summit to discuss the Renaissance Dam project

Sudan has confirmed that its Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has received an invitation from the chair of the African Union (AU), the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, to participate in a mini-African summit on Tuesday to discuss the Renaissance Dam project. Egypt and Ethiopia have not announced whether they will participate.

Official Egyptian sources told Arab News that Egypt had received an invitation to hold the mini-summit in the presence of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the prime ministers of Egypt and Sudan in a phone call between the president and Ramaphosa.
El-Sisi reportedly rejected any unilateral measures that would harm Egypt’s rights to the waters of the Nile, and called for a comprehensive legal agreement between all parties involved in the operation of the dam.

Ramaphosa praised what he said was the constructive approach taken by Egypt during the recent round of negotiations on the dam under the auspices of the AU, which, he added, reflected Egypt’s sincere will to reach a solution to the crisis.

Sudan could also be affected by the dam and is playing a mediating role.
Previous rounds of negotiations between Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have failed to overcome the points of disagreement in the legal and technical aspects of the dam, and have raised fears concerning its impact on the water supply downstream.

The dam, which sits on the Nile’s main tributary, the Blue Nile, is upstream of Egypt and has the potential to control the flow of water that the country almost entirely relies on.
It also will be, when fully operational, the largest hydro-electric plant in Africa, and is projected to provide power to 65 million Ethiopians, who currently lack a regular electricity supply.

Cairo and Khartoum are seeking to reach a legally binding agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam before Addis Ababa begins filling the reservoir. Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly said they would reject any unilateral Ethiopian measures before a comprehensive agreement on the points of disagreement was reached.

The regional director of water resources at the Center for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe, Khaled Abu Zaid, said he believed that if Egypt attended the African mini-summit, it would be beneficial.

“Reaching a solution in the Renaissance Dam negotiations is easy, but Ethiopia continues to delay finding a solution. The biggest impediment is the filling and operating rules of the dam,” Abu Zaid said.

He added that the livestock of Ethiopia consumes more water than the total water share of Egypt and Sudan combined. Any disruption in the drainage of the dam, or the occurrence of a collapse, would seriously harm Sudan first, then Egypt, Abu Zaid said.

The political director of EXX Africa, Robert Besseling, told Bloomberg: “There is no urgent danger forcing Egypt to respond in a more aggressive way today because it will take the Renaissance Dam reservoir over five years to fill up. The risk for Egypt will start two years from now when its water flow weakens.”

Egypt on Tuesday announced a complete plan for water conservation in parallel with convening a mini-African summit to discuss Ethiopia’s Renaissance dam project and to move forward with the dam’s troubled negotiations.

“Joint working groups have been formed between the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation and the Ministry of Housing to take necessary action to rationalize consumption of water and to maximize usage of the country’s water resources,” the Egyptian Council of Ministers said in a statement.

The statement added that the Council of Ministers approved plans to expand constructing desalination plants in the coastal governorships as well as to carry out projects for wastewater treatment for agricultural usage.

According to the statement, recommendations were issued to apply heavy penalties for water wastage.

Egypt’s announcement coincides with the convening of an online mini-African summit on Tuesday with the participation of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

On Wednesday, Ethiopian Water Minister Seleshi Bekele apologized and retracted a previous statement in which he was quoted by Ethiopia’s state-owned broadcaster as announcing the start of filling the $5 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The three countries failed to reach an agreement on regulating water flow from the dam, amid continued fears by Egypt over its share of the water being reduced.

Ethiopia for its part said it has no intention of harming the interests of Egypt or Sudan, and the dam’s purpose is to generate electricity and promote development.

Arab Observer