Negotiations with Ethiopia regarding the Renaissance Dam are futile »

Affiliate – INA The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that negotiations with Ethiopia regarding the Renaissance Dam were fruitless, as the latter rejected Egypt’s call for World Bank arbitration in the dispute over the dam it is building on the Nile River. Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in press statements, “Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn rejected the Egyptian proposal regarding the Renaissance Dam, and that the World Bank’s participation in the tripartite meetings was outside its framework.” He pointed out that “Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was keen to contact his Ethiopian counterpart to confirm the accuracy of the statements, and to inquire about raising this reason at this time.” Abu Zeid added, “The talks within the framework of the technical committee do not tolerate political interpretation, and are not of a political nature. Egypt was very careful when it put forward the initiative for the participation of the World Bank, to be the neutral party, given its international experience for major projects related to dams, and to give “An impartial technical opinion.” He explained, “Sudan has not even interacted with the Egyptian initiative and has not provided a clear opinion or reaction to it until now.” Negotiations between the two countries have reached a dead end for months, as Egypt fears that the dam will affect its share of the Nile River water. Ethiopia says that its construction of the dam will not affect the water shares of its neighbors, and it seeks to become the largest exporter of electrical energy in Africa through this dam, in which it has invested about 4 billion dollars. Source: Agencies