UNSC Members Backed AU Mediation Efforts

Addis Ababa July 9/2021 (ENA) UN Security Council Members on Thursday backed African Union Mediation efforts between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday discussed on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.  

During the meeting, Members of the Council have backed African Union Mediation efforts to resolve the GERD dispute between Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan and urged the parties to resume negotiation.

According to diplomats, this has been the position of the government of Ethiopia over the past several years.

Ethiopia's longstanding commitment to the AU-led process is underpinned by a belief that Africans have the wisdom, the technical expertise, and more importantly, the agency to address their challenges.   

In his press briefing, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy Eng. Sileshi Bekele said that Ethiopia is working towards rules and guidelines that could be concluded and works well for everyone in a win-win cooperation that is based on equitable and reasonable utilization without causing significant harm principles.

“We always go to negotiation with solution at hand. We take a draft rules and guidelines agreement to put it on the table and these parties always disrupting during the past nine meeting, while Ethiopia have never disrupted any meeting.”

He further explained that, we have seen already solution at hand for first filling of the dam since about a year. But the parties didn’t conclude that agreement.

Ethiopia has current and future needs. Currently 65 million people are without electricity while downstream countries achieved 100 percent access to electricity in which hydropower is one of the solutions, he told the media.

About 25 million people are without access to clean water in Ethiopia. We have to also drink water, he added.

“We have to establish secured food production; we cannot continue to migrate everywhere in the world. We have to really produce adequate food, supply adequate water, supply electricity and create jobs.”