Cairo accuses Addis Ababa of using an ‘aggressive tone’ in the negotiation regarding the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Egypt Independent has learned. Egypt’s foreign ministry condemns what it calls an ‘attack on Egyptian state’.
The Egyptian side has said it has summoned Ethiopia’s top diplomat in Cairo over comments by an Addis Ababa official regarding a controversial water object on the Nile.
On Wednesday, the Egyptian ministry’s has released the statement, in which it “summoned the Ethiopian Charge d’Affaires in Cairo to explain comments by the spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry for Foreign Affairs regarding domestic Egyptian affairs”.
The document, however, gives no details but follows a statement by the Ethiopian official on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Over the years, Africa’s biggest hydroelectric project is just raising fears for vital water supplies downstream in both Egypt and Sudan.
According to Dina Mufti, the Ethiopian ministry’s spokesman and a former ambassador to Egypt, Cairo and Khartoum know Nile dam won’t harm them, it’s a diversion from internal problems. Both nations would have to deal with many local issues waiting to explode, especially up there in Egypt.
Egypt accuses Ethiopia again
The Egyptian ministry condemned on Thursday what it called an “attack on the Egyptian state”. According to diplomats, Addis Ababa’s “aggressive tone” is unacceptable and undermines the Nile project. The GERD is at the centre of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter.
Over ten years, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have been in negotiations but have failed to reach a deal on filling the Nile dam. Since August, the talks have been stalled again due to Cairo opposes unilateral moves by Ethiopia and along with Sudan, it has called for a legally binding political solution to the dispute.
