(3minutes read)
· Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi seems to be tightening his stand on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which has become a thorny issue with the neighbor, Ethiopia, of late
· Recently, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said that it had filed a complaint to the UNSC to fulfill its responsibilities in keeping
international peace
· It also urges the security council to prevent Ethiopia from taking unilateral actions on the GERD. Egypt pleaded with the UNSC to intervene to restart negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in good faith to reach a fair binding agreement over the dam’s filling and operation
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi seems to be tightening his stand on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which has become a thorny issue with the neighbor Ethiopia of late. His dictum, which has been made public through his statements make it clear that Egypt appreciates Ethiopia’s right to development and at the same time Ethiopia must understand that the River Nile is Egypt’s lifeline. At the same time, he realizes that a conflict is the least wanted approach. That is why he said that the political and diplomatic path to resolve the dispute over GERD should be resorted.
It may be noted that Egypt has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The response from the Ethiopian camp is that UNSC does not have any jurisdiction to intervene in the case since it is a development issue and not a military one. Addis Ababa has announced that it will go ahead with filling the dam.
Recently, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said that it had filed a complaint to the UNSC to fulfill its responsibilities in keeping international peace. It also urges the security council to prevent Ethiopia from taking unilateral actions on the GERD. Egypt pleaded with the UNSC to intervene to restart negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in good faith to reach a fair binding agreement over the dam’s filling and operation. It complained that Ethiopia is unilaterally taking decisions to fill the dam, which is in violation of the 2015 Declaration of Principles Agreement. The North African country said it has no other diplomatic option other than the UNSC regarding Ethiopia’s ntransigence. The UNSC could ask Ethiopia to not start filling the GERD until an agreement reached.
Ethiopia maintains that it is not mandatory to reach an agreement before starting filling the dam. Hence, it would commence the filling process in the coming rainy season. Trilateral negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia which began on 9 June by video conference reached a deadlock. The talks followed previous rounds of discussions that have also ended without an agreement.
