Ethiopia started dam project after Egypt's 2011 uprising: Abul Gheit

CAIRO - 29 January 2020: Secretary-General of the Arab League Ahmed Abul Gheit blamed the establishment of the Grand Ethiopian Reneisance Dam, which threatens Egyptian water security, on the January 25th revolution in 2011 against the former Egyptian regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

In a seminar held on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 51st edition of the annual Cairo International Book Fair in Fifth Settlement district, Abul Gheit said that President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi managed to get things back on the right track concerning the dam issue, adding that some indications show that it is possible to reach a solution that satisfy all parties, preserve Egypt's water right and Ethiopia's right in development.

Egypt, before January 2011, had always been attentive concerning the issue of water scarcity and had exerted much effort to preserve the Nile river water, the Egyptian politician said, adding that Egypt, following the popular uprising that ousted Mubarak, lost balance, and therefore, Ethiopia acted unilaterally in terms of Nile water.

Concerning Libya, Abul Gheit called on Arab countries to consolidate efforts to save the war-torn country. He warned of the situation in Syria which he said it needs around $500 billion to be rehabilitated, adding that the World Bank think it needs up to $900 billion to be rebuilt.

Abul Gheit also referred to Egypt's readiness to face various international challenges facing Egypt, such as the new deadly coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan city in central China. He affirmed that the Egyptian state has plans to deal with the virus as it poses a possible threat.

GERD talks

The agreement reached between the three Nile countries earlier in January came after nine years of disagreements and discussions between them, as Egypt has voiced concerns over its water share.

Foreign Ministers and Water Ministers of the three countries held a series of three-day meetings at the US Department of Treasury in Washington on January 13-15 after they had reached a deadlock at the end of the US, WB-brokered discussions held in the period between November 15, 2019, and January 9, 2020.

At the end of the meetings which were attended by Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and President of the World Bank David Malpass in Washington, the three countries reached an agreement on all different points regarding the filling and operation of the $4-billion dam, which locates on the Blue Nile.

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Additional reporting by Egypt Today Staff