US NSC urges Ethiopia to reach a deal on GERD

CAIRO – 17 June 2020: The American National Security Council posted Wednesday a tweet in which it urged the Ethiopian government to reach a “fair” deal on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) with the downstream countries of Sudan and Egypt.

The tweet said that Ethiopia should show strong leadership and strike a deal before filling the dam with Nile River water.

257 million people in east #Africa are relying on #Ethiopia to show strong leadership, which means striking a fair deal. Technical issues have been resolved – time to get the GERD deal done before filling it with Nile River water!

— NSC (@WHNSC) June 17, 2020

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said, Monday the latest updates regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations don't bode well in terms of achieving positive results, forcing Egypt to seek other alternatives.

The minister was briefing a symposium titled "Egyptian Diplomacy: Handling Current Challenges" on latest developments of the GERD file.

The top diplomat affirmed Egypt's commitment to the path of negotiations during the course of the previous years as well as its eagerness to reach a just solution to the crisis that meets the interests of the three concerned countries.

Shoukry described the updates of the negotiations as not promising amid Ethiopia's intransigence in a way that would likely force Egypt to opt for other options, like raising the issue with the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to prevent Ethiopia from adopting unilateral measures that may undermine the Egyptian water rights.