Egypt is preparing for a fresh round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) after the African Union on Friday called on Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to formulate a binding agreement on the dam that includes the issue of future development on the Blue Nile river.
During a call-in on Ahmed Moussa’s TV show “Ala Massoulity” (On My Responsibility) on the privately-owned satellite channel Sada al-Balad, Spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, Mohamed al-Sebaie, said that the date for the start of the new round of negotiations will be determined soon.
Sebaie also said that Egypt’s water needs will not be affected this year, pointing out that Ethiopia will not be able to fill the Renaissance Dam before July of next year.
He said that forecasts indicate that the flood index is promising this year, and above average. Sebaie added that the water levels in the Aswan High Dam’s reservoir are within safe limits.
He explained that the situation in Egypt is different from Sudan, with regard to the interruption of some water stations. He said that this will not happen in Egypt, because Egypt has the Aswan High Dam reservoir, on which it depends for water in case of drought. […] CONTINUE READING
