Egypt could file a complaint to the United Nations Security Council to fulfill its responsibilities in keeping international peace and prevent Ethiopia from taking unilateral actions on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that would negatively affect River Nile downstream countries, Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has announced.
During a virtual seminar by the Egyptian Business Council for International Cooperation on Monday, Shoukry stressed Egypt’s commitment to the negotiation approach to reach a fair compromise for the three concerned countries (Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia) on the GERD disputed points.
He pointed out that the recent tripartite talks, though, did not yield positive results due to the Ethiopian obstinacy.
Shoukry’s remarks came while waters ministers of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia were having another round of virtual meetings over GERD at the same time on Monday, after the failure of previous discussions.
On Saturday, the Egyptian Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said that Ethiopia continues to reject several fundamental issues in the ongoing GERD negotiations, including the provisions that reflect the legally binding nature of the agreement.
The ministry indicated the rejection of the Ethiopian side to address technical issue regarding drought mitigation measures and prolonged dry years. Egypt affirmed that these issues are essential to reach an agreement on an “existential” matter affecting the livelihood of 150 million people in Egypt and Sudan.
