Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday said the government is looking forward to the success of negotiations regarding the Nile dam sponsored by Washington, reported Egypt Today.
President Sisi said the agreement between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan would open vast horizons for cooperation, coordination and joint development between the countries and mark a new stage for the development of relations between them. He said the agreement on the rules for filling and operating Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) should maintain a balance between the interests of all parties.
The remarks were made when President Sisi met with Hailemariam Desalegn, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia and the special envoy of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, on Saturday to discuss the Nile dam issue ahead of the imminent signing of the deal.
During the meeting, Sisi affirmed Egypt’s fundamental policy on the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs. He called for promoting different partnership aspects between both countries.
Ethiopia’s Desalegn delivered a message from Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed and said his country wishes to develop relations with Egypt and enhance mutual cooperation to achieve stability in Africa. Ahmed also praised Egypt’s chairmanship of the African Union in 2019.
The construction of GERD, whose total capacity is 74 billion cubic meters, began on Ethiopia’s Blue Nile in 2011. Currently, under construction, the Nile dam is expected to produce over 6,000 megawatts of electricity and become Africa’s largest hydropower dam upon completion.
Egypt has voiced fears that the GERD would negatively impact the country’s water supply as it almost completely relies considerably on freshwater from the Nile. Ethiopia, on the other hand, has reiterated the importance of the project to bolstering its economy where more than half of the population currently lives without access to electricity. The three countries have already reached a draft deal on filling the Nile dam reservoir.
