Egypt’s President Al-Sisi discusses with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa developments of Ethiopian Nile dam dispute during a phone call on Friday.
Al-Sisi stressed the necessity of reaching a comprehensive deal on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), and reiterated Egypt’s rejection to any unilateral actions taken by any party that could affect its Nile water rights.
Ramaphosa praised Egypt’s negotiation approach in AU-guided GERD talks, which reflects Egypt’s sincere political will to settle Nile dam dispute.
Both leaders agreed to continue intensive bilateral coordination on GERD issue.
With 90% of its water needs provided by the River Nile, Egypt remains concerned that the GERD will shrink its share of water from the river, which will cause harms to its people.
Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia were recently engaged in talks brokered by the African Union (AU) over disputed points regarding the Ethiopian dam. The talks, which came to an end on Sunday, ended without any agreement on the disputed points.
After eleven days of negotiations, the three countries presented their final reports on the progress of the talks to President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, who is the current chairman of the AU.
Ramaphosa is expected to hold a mini-summit of AU officials and heads of member states to discuss the next steps.
Egypt has expressed concerns regarding its possible impact on its 55bn cbm share of the River Nile’s water. However, Ethiopia insists that the dam will not negatively affect Egypt’s interests.
Both Egypt and Sudan have other fears over the dam’s security and safety, due to its location in an active geologic region, which puts it at a risk of earthquakes or mass floods.
