Arab League ‘extreme concern’ over Ethiopia’s Nile dam

[Deeq A.]

Worries over water security for millions of people prompted the Arab League yesterday to say it is following “with extreme concern” talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the latter’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which it is building on the Blue Nile.

 

Ethiopia was not “cooperating and coordinating enough”, said Ahmed Abul-Gheit, secretary general of the league, a regional association of 22 countries in Africa and the Middle East. His comments came after negotiations between the three countries broke down earlier this month over how to conduct technical studies on the dam’s impact on Egypt and other countries downstream.

 

Abul-Gheit told the Fourth Arabic Forum for Water in Cairo that water security for Egypt, the most populous Arab country, was a matter of Arab national security.

 

“We do not feel that Ethiopia was cooperating and coordinating enough. The Ethiopian plans to operate the dam and use its water in irrigation are ambiguous and concerning,” he said, reports Egyptian news site Ahramonline.

 

Abul-Gheit called on Ethiopia to show more openness and cooperation given that “there are currently 400 million people living on the banks of the Nile who will reach one billion by 2050”.

 

He said Egypt receives 85% of its water from the Ethiopian highlands through the Blue Nile. As its name suggests, GERD, set to be Africa’s biggest dam, is a project of supreme national importance to Ethiopia. Now more than half built by Italian contractor Salini Impregilo, the hydroelectric plant will have an installed capacity of 6,000 MW – more than double Ethiopia’s current generating capacity – and is central to Ethiopia’s plan to be a net power exporter to the electricity-starved continent. 

 

Construction began in early 2011 as Egypt was convulsed by its January revolution. Since then, fearing for its water security, Egypt has strongly opposed the dam, with concerns over the possibility of the conflict escalating to violence emerging in 2013. Since then, without relinquishing its concerns, Egypt has acquiesced in principle to Ethiopia’s right to build GERD.

 

In March 2015 Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi and his counterparts from Ethiopia and Sudan signed a cooperation deal on the principles of sharing the Nile River water and the construction of the GERD. Then in September 2016 Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed that French consultants BRL and Artelia would carry out studies on GERD’s impact on the flow of the Nile.

 

[Che -Guevara]

Egyptians stabbed the Palestinians in the back, time for them to get screwed as well.

[Old_Observer]

Egyptians stabbed the Syrians in the back as well, when Sadat and Mubarek became obedient to Israel for 2 billion dollars a year from America. That was the ultimate betrayal and after that Arab league became useless.

 

[Old_Observer]

What makes Egyptians treacherous throughout history with many empires? Trying to use fake origin. If any people are prepared to change their roots, origins, history, religion at a drop of a hat, through time cannot be relied to stand through thick and thin on anything.

Do you realize a lot of populations around middle east trying to claim they descend from the Prophet (PUH)? Some of them are known to have no relation at all. These kind of people are not just happy and greatful that Islam has reached them and they are Moslems. They need to go all the way to being from Saudi Arabia and the tribe.

 

Only 17% of Egyptians are Arab. Yet Egypt calls itself the mother of the Arab world. When the Arab flag is down Egyptians are ready to become South Europeans of which they have about 3%. Who knows since the Jewish flag is now up Egyptians may claim to be the real Jewish of which they have 4% of them are from Jewsish tribes.

 

http://www.egyptindependent.com/dna-analysis-proves-egyptians-are-not-arabs/

 

[galbeedi]

The Arab league has an opportunity to do something at this juncture of their history. The three largest wars of the last 40 years has taken place in their neighborhood and they done nothing to stop. Thousands died in Syria as well as YEmen. With all this blood they have nothing to show for other than misery.

 

These Dams by Ethiopia are nothing but a cash cow and strategic ploy to keep these countries in dire need of their mercy. Arabs had never done anything for their own population, now is the time to force Ethiopia to play by the rules or face the consequences.

 

If Egypt goes ahead and stops this dam, it will be also helping Sudan.

 

 

 

[Suldaanka]

The people of Egypt are good people in general and feel the pain and suffering of their fella Arabs and Palestine specially. However, they are as powerless as the Palestinians themselves. The military junta that rules Egypt do not have the best interest of Egypt at heart. They are full-filling the interests of foreigners. 

 

Regarding the Ethiopain Dams, I think there Ethiopia has rights to those same waters but they need to also recognise this is matter of life & death for millions of dependants down stream and can't do unilateral decisions.

[Old_Observer]

41 minutes ago, galbeedi said:

 

 

If Egypt goes ahead and stops this dam, it will be also helping Sudan.

 

 

 

 

galbeedi,

Are you telling us that the Sudanese do not know their interest or they are going against their interest?

Astonishing.

Sudan benefits from the dam as much as Ethiopia does. There is something you are forgetting I am sure. Sudanese agriculture. They have been trying to regulate the flow of this dangerous river for ever. Boom the Ethiopians come with a dam that will completely regulate the flow year round. This benefits even Egypt, but except few Egyptian officials are cowardly to tell their people that there is no loss of water beyond first filling of the dam and better yet you can forget the destructive floods during rainy season in Ethiopia.

Electricity of course Sudan benefits as much since its closer to Sudan than Ethiopia.