'Ethiopian dam crisis worrisome but have confidence in your political leadership': president to Egyptians

CAIRO – 11 May 2021: President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi addressed Egyptians Tuesday saying that although the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis is worrisome, people must have confidence in their political leadership pointing out that negotiations mandate exercising patience.

The statement was made during a ceremony held in Ismailiyah to inaugurate a number of projects affiliated to the Suez Canal Authority.

On May 5, the president met with U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman and accompanying delegation in Al Itihadiyah presidential palace whereas Sisi stipulated that the Ethiopian dam is an "existential issue" to Egypt, which will not allow putting its water interests or the wealth of its people in peril.

The meeting tackled several regional issues in the Horn of Africa with GERD at the forefront. Feltman said the U.S. administration is adamant that this sensitive issue be resolved in a fair and comprehensive settlement, given its enormous importance to Egypt and the region, according to Presidential Spokesperson Bassam Rady.

Sisi congratulated Feltman on his new position, wishing him success in dealing with the issues in the region at a time when the Horn of Africa is witnessing complicated challenges that undermine stability.

Feltman is also visiting Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan within a tour taking place on May 4-13.

Constructions in the Grand Renaissance Dam started on April 2, 2011 at a cost of $4.8 billion. It was built by the Italian construction and engineering company Salini Impergilo. The capacity of the dam's reservoir is 74 billion cubic meters, aimed to generate 6,000 megawatts by installing 16 turbines.

The first filling was carried out in 2020 with 4.9 billion cubic meters. Currently, Ethiopia intends to do the second filling in July with at least 13 billion cubic meters. It is noted that the water shares of Egypt and Ethiopia are 55.5 billion cubic meters, and 18.5 billion cubic meters, respectively.

In 2015, the three countries signed the Declaration of Principles, per which the downstream countries should not be negatively affected by the construction of the dam.

The latest round of talks that took place early in April failed to harness congruence on a negotiation mechanism. Similarly, Ethiopia had been rejecting enlarging the role of technical experts in negotiations per a proposal by Sudan earlier this year.