Ethiopian GERD Negotiation Team Leader Urges Egypt to Stop Media Campaign, Negotiate  

Addis Ababa, December 20/2023(ENA) Egypt should stop unfounded propaganda and media campaign as the differences with respect to the dam can only be resolved through negotiation, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Negotiation Team leader Sileshi Bekele said.
 
The team leader and Ethiopia's Ambassador to the United States briefed the media following the conclusion of the fourth round negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
 
The entire negotiation process has been progressive despite some divergence, Sileshi said.
 
Therefore, the team leader has asked the downstream countries to return to the negotiation table.  

Recall that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also rejected the statement of Egypt that violates the UN Charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union. It has also rejected the misrepresentation of its positions by Egypt.

Explaining about the progresses achieved by the tripartite teams, Ethipia’s Sileshi pointed out that “there is no significant difference from Article one to five of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Those articles could be easily harmonized.”

Article six, which refers to the share of water and matters related to water, is the critical point of difference.
 
Sileshi explained that this article also dealt with the issue of water management and release from the Renaissance Dam during the occurrence of drought.

According to him, the dam is a great blessing for the downstream countries as it releases more water from the reservoir during drought. If there is a drought, it will release some water from the dam reservoir.
 
The team leader stressed the need for ensuring that the water share does not harm any country and Ethiopia seeks the issue to be solved through the 2015 Declaration of Principles that promotes equitable water utilization without causing significant harm to each nation.
 
Speaking about the other challenges that have obstructed the agreement, he said one is the adjustment of water from GERD where Ethiopia is willing to release 31 billion cubic meters annually.
 
“We said that adjustment is needed in the future. This is because it will cause problems not only for the present but also for future generations. This is the main problem and cannot be solved easily. Their (Egypt and Sudan) position is that we will not make any adjustments.”
 
Moreover, Egypt in particular implicitly proposed a colonial era water share agreement.  
 
“Such approach that causes harm to our country, especially the way that they claim to share the water quota and expect Ethiopia to give them approval, will not reach anywhere. This is completely wrong. No country gives up its wealth completely,” he underscored.
 
Sileshi reaffirmed that Ethiopia has no intention to use Nile water alone as an upstream country, adding “we have pushed for a dream together to bring regional integration.”
 
Therefore, Ethiopia has not taken a rigid position and the country will reinforce efforts to have development on the Nile River without harming the countries and ensure transparency in the negotiation.
 
Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan conducted four rounds of negotiations, following the understanding reached between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Abdel Fatah el Sisi of Egypt on 13 July 2023.
 
Unfortunately, Egypt has failed to continue the ongoing negotiation and issued a statement that violates the UN Charter and the Constitutive Act of the African Union.