Egypt Ethiopia Sudan Sign Agreement On Nile Dam
Sudan and Egypt have been working to reach a legally binding agreement before the dam is filled. Ethiopia said it would start filling the reservoir, even without agreement on how it would work, at the start of the rainy season in July, when rains will flood the Blue Nile. The stated deadline of two to three weeks to resolve the dispute closes quickly. Years of winding negotiations have resulted in the two nations and their neighbor, Sudan, failing to reach an agreement on how Ethiopia will operate the dam and fill its reservoir, while protecting Egypt`s water supply scarcity from the Nile. After the last meeting of the Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union, convened by the Chairperson of the Union, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, said a positive and constructive spirit clearly showed the willingness of all parties to reach a mutually agreed agreement. The parties recognized the potential of the project for the African Union, committed to a process facilitated by the President and pledged not to make statements or to take any measures that could jeopardize or complicate the bloc-led process. The Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union and the participating Heads of State and Government requested the United Nations Security Council to take note of the developments and the fact that the African Union has been informed of this issue. It is therefore important that the Security Council respect those continental efforts and leave room for the parties, through the agreed mechanisms, to find a solution that guarantees a peaceful and prosperous future for the three neighbouring countries. In 2013, Ethiopia`s parliament ratified a controversial treaty that replaced colonial agreements that gave Egypt and Sudan most of the Nile`s water.
Finally, the Ethiopian Prime Minister is running in the 2021 elections. The Great Dam project has become the national investment desired by the local population. The issue of water in Ethiopia is sensitive to the population and leaders, who believe that Ethiopia was greatly disadvantaged during the two treaties regulating the waters of the Nile signed during the colonial period, in 1929 and 1959. If the prime minister admits too much in the negotiations, Ethiopians can take him to the polls. These negotiations must therefore take into account the historical, diplomatic and political positions as well as the drinking water needs of the three countries concerned, in order to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties concerned. “So now is the right time to start filling the dam. This would affect Egypt the least. So Egypt has some incentive to agree to do so at that time. .
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