http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2014/05/10/ethiopia-unresponsive-dam-negotiations-foreign-minister/
Ethiopia unresponsive in dam negotiations: Foreign minister
Joel Gulhane / May 10, 2014
PM Mehleb stresses Ethiopian Dam situation will not result in conflict
Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Fahmy has said he is yet to receive a
response regarding suggestions he made to his Ethiopian counterpart
regarding the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Fahmy met with Tedros Adhanom in Brussels at the start of April on the
sidelines of the fourth EU-Africa Summit. The two discussed ideas that
Fahmy had previously presented; however, the foreign ministry is yet to
receive a reply from the Ethiopian side to these suggestions, Fahmy told
state owned MENA on Saturday.
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb also spoke out about the GERD issue on
Saturday, stressing that Ethiopia has the right to produce electricity, but
must do so without harming Egypt's water security interests. He stressed
that the situation is not one that will result in conflict, but can be
solved diplomatically.
Ahead of Fahmy's April meeting with Adhanom in Brussels, the foreign
ministry stressed that Egypt's policy towards he GERD was unchanged,
adding: "There is no room at all for concessions or allowances harming our
interests because it is a subject of national security".
The Egyptian foreign ministry announced in March a detailed outline of the
official stance towards the GERD. Egypt is looking to negotiate a "win-win"
situation for all parties involved, both protecting the developmental need
of Ethiopia and the water security of Egypt and Sudan. The ministry also
said that continued construction of the dam is illegal.
Days later Ethiopia announced that the GERD would be capable of producing
electricity by 2015.
Tripartite talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia were held in November,
December, and January but no agreement was reached. The talks focused on
the formation of a committee to implement recommendations put forth by a
report detailing confidence-building measures concerning the dam and its
effect on downstream nations.
The latest talks concluded in February after failing to resolve the
sticking points of the debate between the two countries.
Received on Sun May 11 2014 - 11:29:22 EDT