Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ethiopia on Wednesday expressed its determination to continue filling its Nile dam, despite threats from other riparian countries, Egypt and Sudan, which do not rule out any option to defend its interests.
These statements come a day after the failure of negotiations between the chancellors of the three countries in Kinshasa, favored by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, pro tempore president of the African Union.
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Ethiopia began construction of the Great Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011. Before its filling began, Egypt and Sudan wanted a tripartite agreement on its operation, but Adias Abeba felt there was no reason to wait.
Faced with the current dead end diplomatic alley, the filling, the first phase ended in 2020, will continue during the next rainy season, starting in June or July, Ethiopian Water Minister Seleshi Bekele announced on Wednesday.
“The filling will be happening,” he said at a news conference. “We will not give up on this in any way,” he added.
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From Khartoum, Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas warned Addis Ababa that they are contemplating “all options” if “Ethiopia starts the second filling without an agreement”.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah in the Sisi also reiterated his warnings. “I say to my Ethiopian brothers, ‘Do not touch a drop of water from Egypt because all the options are on the table.’
In late March, Al Sisi already evoked “unimaginable instability” if the dam threatens “a single drop of water” from Egypt.
imminent danger
The work has been a source of tension between the three countries since the laying of the first stone in April 2011.
This mega reservoir of 74 billion cubic meters of water is located in the northwest and Ethiopia, near the border with Sudan, on the Blue Nile that joins the White Nile in Khartoum to form the Nile.
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With an installed capacity of almost 6,500 megawatts, it could become the most powerful hydroelectric plant in Africa.
Ethiopia says the energy it will produce is vital to meeting the needs of its 110 million people.
But Egypt, which relies on 97% of the Nile for irrigation and drinking water, sees the Ethiopian reservoir as a threat to its water supply.
Sudan for its part fears damage to its own reservoirs if Ethiopia proceeds to fully fill the GERD before reaching an agreement.
The last attempt failed on Tuesday, after three days of negotiations.
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Ethiopia “threatens the people of the Nile basin and Sudan directly,” warned Sudanese Chancellor Mariam al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, warning of an “imminent danger” to the region and the continent.
The Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation for his part lamented that Egypt and Sudan called for greater involvement of South African, American and European Union (EU) observers.
Ethiopia wants to privilege the process favored by the presidency of the African Union, based in the capital, Addis Ababa.
Negotiations are set to resume by the end of the month, according to Ethiopian diplomacy.