The Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged lower riparian countries to accept the assessment report presented by the Tripartite Panel of Experts on the impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Spokesperson of the Ministry Ambassador Dina Mufti told journalists here Tuesday that Ethiopia accepts the report and stressed the need for Egypt and Sudan to do so. Construction of the Dam is underway taking into consideration the benefits of lower riparian countries, Ambassador Dina said, adding, so far 28 per cent of construction of the Dam is completed. He said the reporting of some Egyptian media and government officials linking the construction of the Dam with the safety and security of Egypt is inappropriate. Ambassador Dina stressed the need for all sides to become aware that Ethiopia, which is the source of 85 per cent of the Nile water, has the right to make use of its own water resource for development. The Spokesperson also called on scholars and the public at large to contribute share in the efforts of the Ministry to create awareness on construction of the Dam. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt established the Tripartite International Panel of Experts with the initiative of the Ethiopian Government to investigate the impact of the construction of the GERD project. The tripartite committee was composed of 10 experts; two from each of the three countries and four international experts. The final report of the Panel in general made it clear that the on-going GERD project is being undertaken in line with international design criteria and standards. It also specified that the project would not result in any significant adverse impact on the two downstream countries. It noted that the construction of the GERD did not only benefit Ethiopia in terms of access to energy and job creation, but it would also solve power shortage in the region with low price. The Dam will also solve the problem of siltation in dams in lower riparian countries, a problem that costs millions of dollars in rectification annually, and produce a more constant water flow. The experts were also unanimous in saying that the GERD would solve the problem of the frequent flooding to which the Sudan has been prone. In general, GERD was identified by the Panel as producing major benefits to the three countries, not least the provision of clean energy for the countries and the region as a whole. Source : waltainfo
