Fragile ceasefire in Gaza: Egypt's intelligence chief visits Israel to advance peace process    Egypt, Qatar discuss Gaza aid, bilateral cooperation    Egypt, France agree to boost humanitarian aid, rebuild Gaza's health sector    Egypt implements 60% of 300 investment climate reforms: El-Khatib    AOI overhauls, repairs nitrogen fertilizer plant turbines for first time in Egypt    Egypt's SCZONE head meets with Toyota Tsusho, Tokyo officials on Japan tour    Egyptian junior and ladies' golf open to be held in New Giza, offers EGP 1m in prizes    EGX closes mixed on Oct. 21    The Survivors of Nothingness — Part Two    EGAS, Eni, TotalEnergies sign Cronos field handling agreement    Oil prices drop on Tuesday    Egypt discusses troop deployment to Somalia with foreign minister    Egypt's PM reviews efforts to remove Nile River encroachments    Health Minister reviews readiness of Minya for rollout of universal health insurance    Egypt strengthens ties with NEPAD at Aswan Forum    Sisi invites Egyptians to join Gaza reconstruction drive, citing shared humanity    Egypt screens 13.3m under presidential cancer detection initiative since mid-2023    Egypt launches official website for Grand Egyptian Museum ahead of November opening    The Survivors of Nothingness — Episode (I)    Al-Sisi: Cairo to host Gaza reconstruction conference in November    Egypt, WHO sign cooperation strategy to strengthen health system through 2028    Egypt successfully hosts Egyptian Amateur Open golf championship with 19-nation turnout    Africa can lead global recovery, Egypt's Sisi tells Aswan Forum    Egypt: Guardian of Heritage, Waiting for the World's Conscience    Egypt, Qatar sign MoU to boost cooperation in healthcare, food safety    Egypt will never relinquish historical Nile water rights, PM says    Al Ismaelia launches award-winning 'TamaraHaus' in Downtown Cairo revival    Al-Sisi, Burhan discuss efforts to end Sudan war, address Nile Dam dispute in Cairo talks    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile actions, calls for global water cooperation    Egypt unearths New Kingdom military fortress on Horus's Way in Sinai    Egyptian Open Amateur Golf Championship 2025 to see record participation    Syria releases preliminary results of first post-Assad parliament vote    Karnak's hidden origins: Study reveals Egypt's great temple rose from ancient Nile island    Egypt resolves dispute between top African sports bodies ahead of 2027 African Games    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Egypt to continue GERD negotiation aiming to protect interests of all sides: Al-Sisi
The three sides are set to continue talks in Addis Ababa on 9-10 January, ahead of two decisive meetings in Washington
Published in Daily News Egypt on 30 - 12 - 2019

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi discussed the developments of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during a meeting on Saturday with senior government officials with the aim of reaching an agreement that takes into account all the sides' interests and water rights.
Al-Sisi confirmed that Egypt is adhering to reaching an agreement that takes into account all concerns related to its water interests and rights in the Nile River, especially those related to filling and operating the dam, at the same time achieving the interests of other sides, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Last week, the Egyptian government denied the news reported by some media outlets that Cairo had withdrawn its timeline proposal for filling the GERD's reservoir.
This came a few days after the irrigation ministers of the three countries met in Khartoum to resume negotiations on the GERD. This meeting was the third of four meetings to discuss the GERD which were agreed upon during a mediation meeting in Washington, on 6 November.
Egypt has been demanding an annual flow of 40 billion cubic metres of water from the Blue Nile during the filling of the dam's reservoir.
Egypt and Ethiopia failed to reach an agreement so far on the volume of water to be released during drought times because Egypt needs 40bn cubic metres of Nile water to reach its territory, while Ethiopia proposed to release up to 35bn cubic metres.
The three sides are set to continue talks in Addis Ababa on 9-10 January, ahead of two decisive meetings in the same week in Washington, DC.
The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan are converging on 13 January to discuss the dispute in a second follow-up after the 9 December meeting.
This year has seen dramatic changes for the path of the dam's negotiations.
In the beginning of 2019, Ethiopia has made pledges to not harm the water interests of Egypt amid verbal assurances by Ethiopian officials without their taking any action on the ground. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in October that his country is ready to mobilise millions if a war is a necessity.
The timeframe for filling and operating the dam is one of the main obstacles in the negotiations. The three countries have tabled different proposals on the duration of filling the GERD's reservoir. Egypt's proposal calls for a relatively extended filling period.
Cairo fears that the construction of GERD will lead to a decline in the flow of water in the Blue Nile, which Egypt depends on for obtaining 90 percent of its water.
GERD which is set to be Africa's largest hydro-electric dam, has already tensioned relations between Egypt, and Ethiopia. Ethiopia is constructing the dam the Blue Nile in the Benishangul-Gumuz region some 40 km from the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.
The dam measures 1.8 km long and 145 metres high, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2020 and full operations by 2022.
The project started in 2011 with a cost was estimated at $4bn and it was expected to provide electricity for Ethiopia's population of more than 100 million.


Clic here to read the story from its source.