Russia and China have recently expressed their views that the African Union is the right platform to resolve the dispute between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan
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Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, reached out to his Chinese and Russian counterparts ahead of the United Nations Security Council meeting over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
He also met with UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and other members of the security council.
According to a report by Egypt Today, Mr. Shoukry was trying “to explain its [Egypt’s] position ahead of the Security Council session on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD),” and what Egypt wants to achieve from the Security Council when it is meeting on Thursday to discuss GERD.
A few weeks ago, Egypt mobilized the Arab League to lobby the UNSC, seemingly with the objective to make the GERD a matter of security not only to Egypt but also to the rest of Arab League member states.
Ethiopia rejects the view that GERD constitutes a security concern for lower riparian countries. It rather sees it as a development project and would like the international community to see it that way. This week, Ethiopia sent a letter to the UNSC to express opposition to Arab League meddling in the GERD affair. Ethiopia was also opposed to taking the negotiation out of the African platform.
Ethiopia, a country that contributes about 85 percent of the Nile water while its consumption level has been zero, also sees that the African Union is the right platform to discuss the matter as the parties to the dispute are members of the continental organization. Egypt claims entitlement, and it is monopolistic, over the Nile on grounds of “historical rights.”
Russia and China, permanent members of the UNSC, support the view that GERD should be discussed at the African Union level.
This week Ethiopia has started the second filling of the dam with the objective to retain 13.5 billion cubic meters of water which is said to be enough to start generating power with two turbines.
Over 80 percent of the GERD construction is completed, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia on Wednesday engaged with Ambassadors from the Nile riparian states.
Deputy PM Demeke Mekonnen on Wednesday met with Ambassadors from the Ambassadors in the capital Addis Ababa to brief them on the status of negotiation over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as disclosed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.
He told ambassadors that GERD is a project intended to “equitably and reasonably utilize the water resource without significantly harming downstream countries.”
He also pointed out that Egypt and Sudan attempted to internationalize the difference on GERD by mobilizing Arab States League to take the matter to the United Nations Security Council.
Earlier this week, Ethiopia wrote a letter to the United Nations Security Council asking to put pressure on Sudan and Egypt to respect the African Union led negotiation process and not to take the matter away from the continental platform.
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Fact: Of more than 950 billion meters of water (in the form of rain) that falls on the Ethiopian highlands, Sudan and Egypt get only about 75 billion meters. Than they say that Sudan and Egypt monopolize the water! This dam is primarily designed to suffocate the two countries, not to develop Ethiopia. Accordingly, they have every right to defend themselves. God bless Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan.
The Africans, AU must ask if Egypt is really “African” or ME nation. We know everything it does its affair is from the stand point of Arab League/ME and is racist towards Africans and does not even look to AU and I don’t think its membership is useful as it spies for West and Arab countries against African Nations.
When OAU was established, Egypt was angry but set up Ethiopia for establishing OAU and Ethiopia till this day is paying a price for it The real Egyptians are the darker ones who are being persecuted by Arab/West leadership. Its Chrisitan are dying out and is being replaced Muslim Brotherhood fundamentalism that is where ISIS was formed for Western countries.
This shows the West’s policy in regards to Egypt has been in chaos since 2008. Egypt had thumbs its noise on US strong opposition to the arms deal with Russia when el-Sisi decided to buy the advanced SU-35’s. It shows US is siding with a volatile and unreliable ‘ally’ in the region. As usual Blinken had warned el-Sisi to proceed with the purchase of these advanced fighter jets and threatened with sanctions. Then el-Sisi told Blinken ‘walaa hagaa'(I don’t give a damn about your threats) and now his air force is armed with F-16’s, Mirages and SU35’s in addition to scores of advanced AH-64 Apache and Kamov attack helicopter gunships. It seems to me that both are ganging up on those black folks just harassing and threatening for just trying to bring modernity to their citizens who are living in darkness. Those black folks are utilizing their Allah Blessed and Given natural resources to electrify homes of more than 75 million of their fellow citizens without harming the well being of their brothers and sisters in Sudan and Egypt. I think the current policy of the West in the Middle East and Africa seems to be in chaos. They need diplomats rather than activists. Just take a look at how far the threat of sanctions on Egypt about the SU-35 deal pan out. The threat was made back in March and since then Egypt has received part of the scores of these fighter it ordered. Any sanction? Nope! But when those black folks kept on building their dream dam then all hell broke loose and they were hit one sanction after another. ‘Those niggers are to remain living in the dark’, you know!!! ‘You niggers do not deserve electricity’, you know!!! There is nothing else I can make out of this. This injustice just makes me sad. I hope they change their ways.