Washington Hosted Discussion Won’t Affect Ethiopia’s Stand on GERD: MoFA

Addis Ababa  October  31  /2019 Washington’s call to discuss the issue of GERD will not affect Ethiopia’s stand regarding the construction of GERD, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. 

Briefing journalists today, the Spokesperson, Nebyat Getachew said the meeting that the U.S.A will host regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD basically will have no problem for Ethiopia since it is “just a discussion not a mediation”.

“The call from Washington is not for mediation rather it is planned for discussion. Since U.S.A is a friend of both Ethiopia and Egypt, its call to discuss the issue basically has no problem,” Nebyat said.

Egypt has been insisting for a third party interference in the mediations regarding the filling and operation of GERD.

This month Ethiopia affirmed its firm stand not to accept any mediation from third parties other than the tripartite consultations on the filling and operation of GERD.

Nebiyat said Ethiopia believes that the issue of GERD can be solved only through technical solution, he added.

According to Nebiyat, Ethiopia is preparing to dispatch high level officials to various countries to make known the reality regarding the GERD project, he noted.

Regarding repatriating citizens, Nebiyat said efforts are continued to repatriate citizens from different parts of the world.

According to him, a total of 1,221 Ethiopians who illegally traveled to Saudi Arabia have been repatriated during the first quarter of this Ethiopian fiscal year.

Additional 400 citizens, who were living in camps in Saudi Arabia will arrive tomorrow, he added.

Noting that over 400,000 Ethiopians are estimated to live in Lebanon, Nebiyat said efforts are being exerted to ensure safety of Ethiopians living there.

Confirming that Ethiopians have not encountered a problem so far in connection with the unrest in Lebanon, Nebiyat said Ethiopian Consular General in Beirut is working in cooperation with stakeholders to ensure their safety.

According to Nebiyat, a delegation that aimed to assess the situation and extend support for Ethiopians living there will be dispatched to the country soon.