Borkena
Toronto – Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam is completed and set to be inaugurated in September this year.
Egypt is calling it all unacceptable. Having lost on all the cards it played to stop the construction of the dam before “binding agreement,” It is rekindling its fight over the water of Abbay (Nile ) river 85 percent of which originates from Ethiopia – this time to apparently stand on the way of the inauguration.
BBC Amharic on Friday reported that Badr Abdelatty has been having a telephone conversation with the foreign ministers of the Nile basic countries – Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda and Kenya. He also reportedly spoke to the foreign ministers of countries in the region which are not Nile basin countries namely Djibouti and Somalia.
His message was, according to the BBC report, “Egypt does not accept unilateral action that violates international law in the east Nile basin.”
He is said to have emphasized International law principles based on shared use of the resource which does not appear to be at odds with Ethiopia’s position.
The active dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia over the construction of Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam is as old as the project which is now completed after 14 years.
Egypt was unable to make a sound case against Ethiopia within the context of international law as claiming equitable share of the water on the part of Ethiopia was not in violation of international law.
Rather Egypt has been rooted on claims of “historical rights” over the Nile the basis of which is the 1869 colonial era agreement with the British Colonial power. That agreement laid the rule for sharing the Nile Water between Egypt and Sudan. According to that agreement, Egypt gets 55.5 percent of it and Sudan gets 18 percent of the 84 billion cubic meters of water. Ethiopia was not a party to the agreement and no water share was allocated to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia continued with the construction of the dam as negotiation with Egypt and Sudan continued for decades. Despite claiming an equitable share of the water, Ethiopia has been reiterating the committee to complete the construction of the dam without affecting the water shares of Egypt and Sudan (lower riparian countries).
Even after the completion of the project which was achieved without causing reduction of the water shares of the lower riparian countries, Egypt is restless about the project. There have been allegations that Egypt played all sorts of cards to deepen the crisis ethnic conflict has been breeding in the country over the past three decades. The result does not appear to be one that Egypt has been planning for.
The last few years have seen intensive diplomatic campaigns in the region. Diplomatic missteps Abiy Ahmed’s administration took and his regime’s apparent desire in the strategic use of access to the sea narrative as a distraction to what turned out to be unending conflict in the Amhara region offered a diplomatic playing card to Egypt some of them even resulted in partnership in the security and military. Egypt already signed a tripartite agreement with Eritrea and Somalia. With Somalia, it was a full fledged military pact. which was signed in August 2024.
Notably, filling the reservoir of the dam has already been completed a few years ago. The project itself is completed. There were recent reports that the Ethiopian government has already been sending out invitations to heads of governments for the inauguration of the Dam.
Egypt’s latest campaign does not seem to be related to equitable share of the water as it has been claiming a water monopoly standing on “historical right” ground. In the course of the negotiation between the three counties and towards the completion of the project Egypt attempted to negotiate terms that violate Ethiopia’s sovereignty – to have a say in the operation of the dam. It remains to be seen if Egypt’s latest diplomatic campaign is meant to push in that direction.
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Hey all of you Abids(niggers) and khadamis(house niggers) from DR of Congo, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi. Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti better listen to me el-Sisi your Sayeedi-al-Walaaabeede! I am ordering you not to touch and don’t even think about scooping a single teaspoon of water from The Nile and all tributaries. My beasts of burdens in Piccola Roma and Villa Mogadishu are not included in this dire and final warning. I will have Ethiopia for breakfast and that will be a cake walk for my indomitable army since OLA, Fano and TPLF are eagerly waiting for my arrival. I will use the rest of you as makhshees(snacks). As you can see, I did not need to send a single soldier into The Sudan and she is done with a flip of a button from my office here in Al-Qahirah. That is called remote control.
I heard that that thing I hate with a passion, Ethiopia, is planning to celebrate the inauguration of this dam and has invited all of you the party. Go there at your own risk because my number one air force in the world will rain fire on you abd(niggers’) asses. Don’t even think about going there!!!