Egyptian Prime Minister: “No drop of water from Egypt’s share of Nile water will not be waived”
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly affirmed that the Egyptian state, with all its apparatus, is intensifying its efforts to confront the Renaissance Dam crisis, stressing that no drop of water from Egypt’s share of the Nile water has not been waived.
Madbouly pointed out that “in order to preserve every drop of water, the projects implemented by the state have diversified, whether through expanding the establishment of seawater desalination plants, or through re-use of agricultural and industrial drainage water after treating it by all means and methods recognized and approved internationally.”
The Prime Minister added, in a press statement, that “the competent agencies and ministries are making redoubled efforts to preserve all our water resources, indicating that Egypt is one of the countries in the world to preserve and maximize its water resources.”
Earlier, Tuesday, Ethiopia raised the tone of defiance towards both Egypt and Sudan in the file of the Renaissance Dam that they are building over the Blue Nile, the most prominent tributary of the Nile River, describing the water-sharing agreements as “unacceptable.”
Mufti’s speech came in response to a question about the escalation of the Renaissance Dam crisis, and the options for the affected countries, Egypt and Sudan.
He added that the two downstream countries “do not want the African Union to succeed in ending negotiations on the Renaissance Dam.”
The spokesman accused Egypt and Sudan of prolonging the negotiations during the last period. “They got out of it 9 times,” he said.
The Ethiopian diplomat considered that the historic Nile water agreements that the two downstream countries adhere to “are unacceptable and unreasonable.”
The Mufti talks about treaties, including the 1929 agreement between Egypt and Britain, as a former colony of the region, which stipulates that no works should be established over the river without prior agreement with the British government.
In 1959, an agreement was concluded to distribute water quotas to Egypt and Sudan by 74 billion cubic meters, by 55 billion and 500 million to Egypt and 18 billion and 500 million to Sudan.
Earlier, Egypt and Sudan had hinted to take measures that include legal prosecution of Ethiopia, after the last round of negotiations between the three parties in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in early April, stumbled into reaching a binding solution regarding the filling and operation of the dam.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry addressed letters to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the President of the Security Council to explain the latest developments in the Renaissance Dam crisis, especially the stalled negotiations.
Khartoum said that it is in the process of filing lawsuits against the Italian executing company and the Ethiopian government.
Likewise, Sudan waved to resort to the UN Security Council, considering this one of the options presented.
Despite this, Ethiopia has repeatedly expressed its intention to start the second phase of filling the dam reservoir in the rainy season, during the coming months of July and August, which threatens the water supply to Egypt and Sudan.
Observers believe that the insistence of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to highlight the issue of the Renaissance Dam is an attempt to push the citizens of his country to rally around him in the face of crises at home and abroad.
