Jordan stands by Egypt, Sudan to defend their water rights

 

 

CAIRO – 10 September 2020:  Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi affirmed on Wednesday his country’s support for Egypt and Sudan regarding their water rights in the Nile waters. 

 

 

Safadi comments came in his speech at the 154th session of the Council of the League of Arab States at the ministerial level, which was held via the visual communication technology on Wednesday.

 

 

Egypt and Sudan are at loggerhead with Ethiopia over the controversial Renaissance. When Ethiopia started building the dam since May 2011, Egypt voiced concern over its water share [55.5 billion cubic meters]. Three years later, a series of tripartite talks between the two countries along with Sudan began, while Ethiopia continued the dam construction.

 

 

In 2015, the three countries signed the Declaration of Principles, per which the downstream countries [Egypt and Sudan] should not be negatively affected by the construction of the dam. Since then, the talks have been resumed, but In October 2019, Addis Ababa was blamed for hindering a final agreement concerning a technical problem. Activating Article No. 10 of the Declaration of Principles, which stipulates that if the three countries could not find a solution to these differences, they have to ask for mediation, was a must.

 

 

Recently, the three countries settled down the differences over filling the dam in stages; and a mechanism for dealing with droughts, prolonged droughts, and years of water scarcity during the process of filling the dam; according to a US-drafted deal that was unilaterally signed by Egypt in Washington in January 2020.

 

 

The current dispute is a legal one, as Egypt and Sudan insist that Ethiopia should abide by a legal binding agreement concerning the operation of the dam.