Sudanese Minister of Water Resources and Electricity Osama Abdullah Hassan arrived Wednesday in Cairo to discuss with Egyptian officials a recent move by Ethiopia to divert the course of Nile for the construction of the Renaissance Dam, state-run MENA news agency reported. The visit came one day after Addis Ababa announced it was diverting the Blue Nile course as a prior step to building the dam. The Sudanese minister will discuss with the Egyptian officials ways to deal with the situation and the possible impacts of such a measure on the Nile water share of both countries. On Tuesday, Egypt's presidency said that the Ethiopian move " will not negatively affect Egypt's share of Nile water." Also, the Egyptian irrigation ministry echoed the presidency's remarks, saying diverting the Blue Nile course does not mean the water will not flow to Egypt. In the meantime, Egypt's ambassador to Ethiopia said the dam is "a reality" that Egypt had to cope with. However, experts said that the Ethiopian move poses real threats to Egypt's share of Nile water and relevant development projects in the country. "The Ethiopian dam would severely harm Egypt," said Hani Raslan, head of Sudan and Nile Basin department at Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. The dam may result in "shortage of Nile water, drying agricultural lands, increasing Nile Delta soil salinity and reducing Egypt's High Dam power generation," Raslan said. Xinhua
