CAIRO – 11 October 2021: Egypt's Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Ati said, Monday that the current negotiations situation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD] are almost ‘stalled’.
He added that there are some international communications; however, they ‘are not up to the Egyptian state ambitions’, accordingly the talks are almost ‘stalled’.
During a press conference, Monday Abdel Ati stressed that Egypt’s constants are clear and obvious, ‘We seek to reach a just, legal and binding agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam’ the irrigation minister said.
He affirmed that Egypt is fully willing and prepared to engage in a serious negotiation to reach a binding agreement on the GERD
Abdel Ati said that the government is trying to solve problems related to the water issue accumulated since nearly 50 years.
“The Egyptian state will not tolerate anything related to the water issue, and will not allow a crisis to take place in this regard” The irrigation minister added.
The Minister of Irrigation stressed the importance of ‘the canal lining project’, which made the water reach the ends of the canals in a better way, pointing out that the project also aims to modernize the irrigation systems and support farmers by providing them interest-free loans.
Earlier in October, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that The Republic Democratic of Congo (DRC), which chairs the African Union for this year, is currently communicating with all three countries related to the issue of the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in order to resume negotiations.
In statements to MBC Masr news channel, he expected Congo to call for a new round of negotiations on GERD during the coming period.
“The current situation includes high-level communications under the auspices of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi for resuming negotiations” Shoukry said.
He added that a delegation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo visited Egypt and put forward a number of ideas”
He noted that ‘Egypt is always ready to engage in negotiations’, but only based on the outcomes of the UN security council session which includes reaching a binding legal agreement on filling and operating the Dam, within a short and pre-announced period, along with a clear framework of observers assisting the African Union through presenting solutions and proposals that can bring the three countries [ Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia] points of views closer.
Shoukry affirmed that Egypt does not set ‘pre-conditions’ for engaging in negotiations, as ‘it involves always with a ‘good-will’ in the GERD negotiations with Ethiopia.
However, after a long period of negotiations, Egypt and Sudan came to the conclusion “that these negotiations are endless”.
“We place our trust in President Tshisekedi that negotiations will be resumed in accordance with what was approved by the African Union office, as well as the outcomes of the presidential statement issued by the Security Council.” Shoukry said.
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