Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia’s long-running Nile dam dispute is getting intense as the Ethiopian government has begun the second phase of filling the reservoir behind the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), reported Arab News.
On Monday, Egypt’s Irrigation Ministry informed Ethiopia of its categorical rejection of the measure, which it regards as a threat to regional stability. The ministry said that Ethiopia’s move to begin filling the dam’s reservoir was a violation of international laws and norms that regulate projects built on the shared basins of international rivers.
On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia came forward in support of Egypt and Sudan in “preserving their legitimate water rights”, and their efforts “to contain this crisis and their demands to solve it in accordance with the rules of international law”.
The kingdom has called on the international community to intensify efforts to help find a clear mechanism to begin negotiations between the three countries to get out of the crisis.
Tunisia also submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council, calling on Ethiopia to cease filling the GERD’s reservoir. The UNSC is expected to discuss the dispute on Thursday.
The draft resolution has called on Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to resume negotiations at the joint invitation of the Chairperson of the African Union and the Secretary-General of the United Nations and finalize a binding agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD within the next six months.
The three countries have been facing a deadlock over the GERD, which broke ground in 2011. The dispute is concerned regarding the speed at which a planned reservoir is filled behind the dam, the method of its annual replenishment, and how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs. Another point of difference is how the three countries would settle any future disputes.
Egypt and Sudan are calling out for a legally binding agreement on the dam’s filling and operation, while Ethiopia insists on guidelines.
