Ethiopia Will Not Cave-in to Aggression of any kind: PMO

Addis Ababa, October 24/2020 (ENA) Ethiopia will not cave-in to aggression of any kind, nor does the country give recognition to right that is entirely based on colonial treaties on GERD, said Office of the Prime Minister.

The office’s statement has come after US President Donald Trump raised the complex issues related to the Hydro-politics of the Nile and he suggested that Egypt may destroy the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The office said in a statement today that  Ethiopia has reiterate its commitment for peaceful resolution of the matter on the GERD based on cooperation, non-interference, mutual trust and the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization.

"Nonetheless, occasional statements of belligerent threats to have Ethiopia succumb to unfair terms still abound. This threats and affronts to Ethiopia sovereignty are misguided, unproductive and clear violation of international law,” the statement stated.

As developing nation, Ethiopia may be confronted with poverty but are rich with history, patriotic citizens whose commitment to defend their country’s sovereignty is unparalleled and an ambition and a well-articulated plan for prosperity, it underlined.

According to the statement, from its very inception, GERD has been an attempt to answer what has been the generation of the country’s quest for equitable and reasonable utilization of the Abbay and other rivers contributing to Nile from Ethiopia.

This Ethiopia’s aspiration and commitment for development is best demonstrated through unanimous support to the construction of the dam, it said.

Noting that about 85 percent Nile flow originates from Ethiopia, it is an inflection point where a nation and its proud people stopped lamenting the past and toiled to achieve what once seemed impossible, Office of the PM pointed out.  

In this regard, it further stated that “a great milestone was reached last August 2020 when the first phase of the water filling was completed before the end of Ethiopia’s rainy season.”  

Parallel to this construction work, Ethiopia has expressed on several occasions its abiding commitment for cooperation on the Nile based on mutual trust the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization of the Nile River, the statement said.  

According to the statement, the negotiation with the lower riparian countries has shown significant progress since the African Union (AU) seized of the matter as manifestation of Africa’s capabilities to respond to its own problem.

The GERD is an affirmation of Ethiopia’s commitment for equitable and reasonable utilization of the Abbay River, it added.