Egypt renewed on Monday warnings against Ethiopia’s unilateral filling and operation of the mega-dam it has been constructing on the Blue Nile.
Cairo stressed it will not accept the “grave negative impacts” of Ethiopia’s actions.
Minister of Water Resource and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty warned Ethiopia from proceeding with the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) without reaching an agreement with Egypt.
In remarks marking World Water Day on Monday, Abdel Aty stressed that the dam and its impact on the Nile River represent one of the greatest challenges to Egypt.
Cairo has recently intensified its diplomatic efforts to prevent Addis Ababa from proceeding with the second filling of the dam reservoir and pressured it to reach a binding legal agreement.
In a speech at the UN High-Level meeting on the implementation of the water-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said the current situation requires resuming serious and effective negotiations mediated by the African Union with an active participation by the international community.
Addis Ababa has shown its intention to impose a fait accompli on the Nile downstream countries by attempting to continue filling the GERD, he noted on Thursday.
Ethiopia began constructing the 1.8-kilometer-long GERD in 2011 to generate power.
However, Cairo and Khartoum fear the potential negative impact of the dam on the flow of their annual share of the Nile’s 55.5 billion cubic meters of water.
They continue to stress the need to reach a binding and comprehensive agreement that guarantees the rights and interests of the three countries.
For nearly a decade, the AU-sponsored talks between Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum over the operation and filling of the mega-dam have faltered.
Last month, Khartoum proposed forming a quartet committee that includes the European Union, the United Nations, the United States and the African Union to mediate the GERD talks, a proposal rejected by Addis Ababa and welcomed by Cairo.
