Egypt’s irrigation minister has received official notice from Ethiopia that the latter had begun filling the reservoir behind its giant hydropower dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), for a second year. Egypt has informed Ethiopia of its categorical rejection of the measure, which it regards as a threat to regional stability, irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aty said.
The UN Security Council is set to meet Thursday on Ethiopia’s mega-dam project, which has sparked fears in downstream Sudan and Egypt over their water supplies. Both nations have been pushing Ethiopia to sign a definite agreement over the filling and operation of GERD on the Blue Nile.
Addis Ababa, which said it last year reached its first target in the years-long filling of the dam, has announced it will proceed in July with or without a deal. The public session was requested by Tunisia on Egypt and Sudan’s behalf, according to a diplomatic source.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in his note that negotiations are at an impasse and he accused Ethiopia of adopting “a policy of intransigence that undermined our collective endeavors to reach an agreement.”
Source: arabnews.com