UNGA 2020: Ethiopia has 'no intention' of using dam to harm Egypt or Sudan

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says he is committed to finding amicable solution

A satellite image of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. Maxar Technologies via AP

A satellite image of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. Maxar Technologies via AP

A 2013 photo showing the Blue Nile river flowing near the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. AP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

Construction workers are seen at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

A view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

A general view of construction work at the site of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam near Assosa, Ethiopia. AFP, File

Sudan's Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Mohamed (C) takes part in a video meeting over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on June 9, 2020. AFP

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry. AP

The Nile in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. AFP

The Nile in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. AFP

The Nile in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. AFP

A pleasure boat carrying tourists and locals sails on the Nile at sunset in Aswan, Egypt. AP, file

Sayed Ahmed Abdoh poles his boat to check fish traps in the Nile, near Abu Al Nasr village, about 770 kilometres south of Cairo, in Egypt. AP, file

An aerial view shows the Nile before sunset in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. AFP

An aerial view shows the Nile before sunset in the Egyptian capital, Cairo on June 20, 2020. AFP

Ethiopia has “no intention” of harming Sudan or Egypt with a giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile, which has caused a bitter dispute between the three countries, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told the UN on Friday.

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan failed to strike a deal on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam before Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the wall in July.

But the three states have returned to mediation led by the African Union.

"I want to make it abundantly clear that we have no intention to harm these countries," Mr Abiy told the 193-member UN General Assembly in a recorded video.

"We are steadfast in our commitment to addressing the concerns of downstream countries and reaching a mutually beneficial outcome in the context of the ongoing, AU-led process."

Talks have faltered over a demand from Egypt and Sudan that any deal be legally binding, a way to resolve disputes and how to manage the dam during periods of reduced rainfall or drought.

Egypt says it is dependent on the Nile for more than 90 per cent of its scarce fresh water supplies and fears the dam could have a devastating effect on its economy.

Mr Abiy told the UN that the project contributed to the conservation of water, "which would otherwise have been lost to evaporation in downstream countries".

"What we are essentially doing is to meet our electricity demands from one of the cleanest sources of energy," he said.

"We cannot afford to continue keeping more than 65 million of our people in the dark."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi expressed his concern about the project when he addressed the UN on Tuesday.

"The Nile must not be monopolised by one state," Mr El Sisi said. "For Egypt, the Nile water is an existential matter.

"This, however, does not mean that we want to undermine the rights of our brothers and sisters, sharing with us the Nile Basin.

"Nevertheless, it is unacceptable for the negotiations to continue forever in an attempt to impose the realities on the ground."