Ethiopia's Nile dam 'an existential issue' to Egypt, says El Sisi

Egyptian leader repeats desire for legally binding deal on the Nile's Gerd project

A satellite image taken on June 26, 2020 shows a close-up view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile. Maxar Technologies via Reuters

The construction site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Guba in the North West of Ethiopia, seen in November 2017. AP

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River in Guba, northwest Ethiopia. AFP

An aerial view of water levels at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Guba, Ethiopia, 2020. AFP

The Blue Nile River is seen as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam reservoir fills near the Ethiopia-Sudan border, in this broad spectral image taken on November 6, 2020. Reuters

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam has been a source of discord for years. AP

The GERD dam on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia has been under construction since 2011. EPA/MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River is considered by Ethiopia to be integral to its energy supply, but neighbouring countries say it jeopardises their own water resources. AFP

This frame grab from a video obtained from the Ethiopian Public Broadcaster (EBC) on July 20 and July 21, 2020 and released on July 24, 2020 shows an aerial view of water levels at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in Guba, Ethiopia. AFP

A view of northwestern Ethiopia that focuses on the status of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River on July 11, 2020. AFP

A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia June 26, 2020. Maxar Technologies via Reuters

The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will return to Washington this week for another round of talks to reach an agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam after missing the deadline last month. Reuters

The Blue Nile river flows near the site of the planned Grand Renaissance Dam near Assosa in Ethiopia. AP

The Grand Renaissance Dam hydroelectric project in Ethiopia. Egypt belives Adis Abbaba is being deliberatley slow in negotiations. William Lloyd George / AFP

A combination picture of handout satellite images shows a view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) July 25, 2017 (top left), July 20, 2018 (top right), July 3, 2019 (bottom left), July 9, 2020 (bottom right) in Ethiopia, in these Sentinel-1 satellite imageries obtained by Reuters on July 14, 2020.

The massive hydroelectric Nile dam being built by Ethiopia is an “existential” issue that could affect millions of Egyptians, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said on Wednesday.

Egypt is deeply alarmed that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, or Gerd, would reduce its share of Nile water significantly, severely disrupting its vital agriculture sector and wiping out hundreds of thousands of jobs.

Ethiopia has repeatedly assured Egypt and bordering downstream country Sudan that the dam, which will lift millions from poverty, would not negatively effect them. It says that building and running the Gerd was a sovereignty issue in which outsiders should not meddle.

Addressing a news conference after talks with visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, the Egyptian leader said they reviewed developments related to the Gerd as an “existential issue that affects the lives of millions of Egyptians”.

Tanzania is one of 11 Nile basin nations and home to a hydroelectric dam being built on the Rufiji river with help from Egyptian engineers.

Egypt’s assistance in the construction of the Julius Nyerere dam was cited by Mr El Sisi on Wednesday to counter claims by Addis Ababa that Egypt was sticking by colonial-era agreements that unjustly gave it the lion’s share of the Nile’s waters without care or concern for the needs and interests of other basin nations.

“That project represents a model for Egypt’s support of the rights of Nile basin nations to achieve full exploitation of its water resources without negatively impacting the rights of other nations,” said the Egyptian leader, who since taking office in 2014 has energetically courted sub-Saharan African nations, travelling widely in the continent, offering technical training opportunities, aid and university scholarships.

President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and visiting Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan. Photo: Egyptian Presidency

He repeated that Egypt wanted to see Ethiopia enter a legally binding deal regulating the filling and operation of the dam and based on international law. He also berated Ethiopia for what he described as its unilateral actions on the issue of the dam and “imposing a fait accompli that ignores the basic rights of people”.

Ethiopia refuses to enter a binding agreement, arguing that guidelines should suffice. It has also rejected suggestions by Cairo and Khartoum to involve the US, EU and the UN in negotiations over the dam, insisting it was an African issue that must be dealt with inside the continent.

More than a decade of on-and-off negotiations have failed to produce a deal, with the last round of talks breaking down acrimoniously in April.

Sudan said it needs to have real-time data on the dam’s operations to ensure that its own power-generating dams on the Blue Nile operate efficiently and to avoid ruinous floods.

The Blue Nile, whose sources are in Ethiopia, accounts for more than 80 per cent of the river’s water after it meets the White Nile outside Khartoum, Sudan’s capital. They flow together across northern Sudan and Egypt to the Mediterranean.