United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said it could take months to resolve a dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Nile dam, reported Arab News.
Tensions between the two countries have been high ever since Ethiopia started working on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in 2011.
Addressing reporters at the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Pompeo said the two countries were working on reaching the terms of a final agreement on the dam.
“A great deal of work remains, but I’m optimistic that over the coming months we can resolve this,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian foreign minister, Gedu Andargachew, said at the press conference that there were outstanding issues related to the Nile dam that need negotiation. While he did not elaborate on the issues, major sticking points include the filling of the dam’s reservoir, which Egypt is concerned will dramatically curb water flow downstream.
Ethiopia claims the Nile dam, which will be the largest hydropower plant in Africa, is crucial for its growing economy and will provide the country with much-needed electricity and economic regeneration. Egypt, on the other hand, believes that when the dam is filled already scarce water supplies from the Nile will be restricted.
As Cairo is almost entirely dependent on Nile water, receiving around 55.5 million cubic metres a year from the river, it claims that filling the dam will affect the water it needs for drinking, agriculture, and electricity.
The three countries are yet to reach an agreement on the dam. The latest round of talks concluded in Washington last week, and officials have said they want to reach a deal on the Nile dam by the end of February.
Pompeo was in Ethiopia for his final lag during his three days Africa visit to Senegal, Angola, and Ethiopia. The visit comes just weeks after the US announced tightened visa rules targeting Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, as well as Tanzania, Sudan,, and Eritrea.
