Ethiopia says “No Mediation Needed on GERD” - ENA English
Ethiopia says “No Mediation Needed on GERD”
Addis Ababa October 17 /2019 Ethiopia affirms its position that it will not accept any mediation other than the tripartite consultations on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Briefing high level government officials, Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Seleshi Bekele said Ethiopia will continue to reinforce and peruse the trilateral technical consultation, as it is the only option for resolution of differences among the three countries with respect to the dam.
Seleshi said that Egypt has forwarded unfair proposal on the filling and operation of the dam, which are totally unacceptable from the Ethiopian side.
He noted that in its proposal, Egypt requests for the continuation of the average natural flow of the Nile water during long term operation saying “it is unacceptable as it prohibits water use in upstream of GERD and implying denial of current and future use.”
Egypt has also requested that Ethiopia to guarantee a water level of 165 meters above mean sea level for the Aswan High Dam by releasing water from the GERD and demanded to establish permanent office at the dam with its own personnel.
He reiterated Ethiopia's firm stand saying that the proposal is not acceptable as it “heavily infringes the sovereignty of the country” and added that it disrupts the ongoing trilateral consultations.
Seleshi also reiterated the country's stance regarding the National Independent Scientific Research Groups (NISRG), saying Ethiopia will only accept recommendations from this group with respect to the filling and operation of GERD.
Despite Egypt is working to make its proposal acceptable by ignoring the NISRG, Seleshi said Ethiopia and Sudan are pursuing a constructive and inclusive approach for the discussion with the NISRG.
He called on the Egyptian side to refrain from negative media and other campaigns that will erode the spirit of cooperation among the three countries, assuring that the trilateral consultations will allow resolution of differences.