Egypt's irrigation minister, Hossam Moghazi, said on Sunday that he will pay a visit to Ethiopia next week for the opening of the first meeting of a national committee which includes 12 water experts from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, state news agency MENA reported. This National committee has been appointed to make studies on the Ethiopian Renaissance dam that is being constructed in Ethiopia, according to MENA. Moghazi will be accompanied by the Sudanese and the Ethiopian irrigation ministers during his three-day visit next week. Moghazi's statements came in a meeting with journalists in Alexandria, Egypt in the presence ofthe HeadofCooperationat theDelegation of the European Union, Diego Escalona. Last Month, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia's irrigation ministers signed an agreement to conduct two studies to gauge the effects of Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam on its neighboring countries. The committee has been given a six-month deadline starting from 1 September to formulate a timeframe to carry out the reports. The dam has been a source of concern for the Egyptian government since May 2013, when images of its construction stirred public anxiety about the possible impact on Egypt's potable water supply. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/110702.aspx
