Disrespecting Ethiopia’s Sovereignty, Right to Use Nile Unacceptable: Ministry

Addis Ababa September 20/2019 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that moves that disrespect the sovereignty and right of Ethiopia to use the Nile waters is not acceptable, referring to the proposal that Egypt has presented regarding the filling of GERD.

In his weekly presser, Ministry Spokesperson, Nebiyat Getachew said: “any move that does not respect Ethiopia’s sovereignty and its right to use the Nile dam has no acceptance.”

Nebiyat stated that Egypt's proposal on the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is not acceptable, as it ‘puts Ethiopia's sovereignty under question’.

He said "Egypt’s proposal ignores the procedure of the tripartite negotiation and obtrudes from the system. It does not accept and respect current and future rights and development plans of Ethiopia over the Nile and complicates filling of the dam.”

The Spokesperson said "Ethiopia believes that inappropriate unilateral moves that could disrupt the spirit of trust and cooperation build among the three countries for the past seven years should be stopped."

The Spokesperson reiterated that Ethiopia will continue to develop the Nile in a spirit of cooperation and mutual benefit to satisfy its development needs.