By elias meseret, associated press
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Jan 21, 2018, 10:58 AM ET
Ethiopia’s leader has rejected arbitration by the World Bank on a disagreement with Egypt over the hydroelectric dam that Ethiopia is building on the Nile River.
Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Saturday refused the suggestion made by Egypt in late December that the World Bank should be brought in to resolve the dispute with Ethiopia over the construction of the dam on the Nile River that Egypt says threatens its water security. Sudan is also part of the negotiations because the Nile flows through it on the way to Egypt.
“Ethiopia will not accept Egypt’s request to include the World Bank in the tripartite technical committee’s talks on the dam,” Desalegn told the state run Ethiopian News Agency after visiting Egypt on Friday where he met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi. “There is an opportunity for the three countries to resolve possible disputes by themselves.”
Egypt’s suggestion came amid a 10-month impasse over technical negotiations for the dam, which will be Africa’s biggest hydro-electric plant. Egyptian officials have called the World Bank “neutral and decisive” and said the organization could facilitate negotiations “devoid of political interpretation and manipulation.”
But the Ethiopian leader said that “seeking professional support is one thing; transferring it to an institution is another thing. So we told them (Egypt) that this is not acceptable with our side.” Desalegn said that Egyptians are not getting accurate information about the source of Nile waters and how Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam will operate.
The $5 billion dam is about 63 percent complete. When finished it will generate about 6,400 megawatts, more than doubling Ethiopia’s current production of 4,000 megawatts. The dam will also help to spare Ethiopia from drought and famine.
Ethiopia maintains that the dam’s construction will not reduce Egypt’s share of the river’s water. It insists the dam is needed for development, pointing out that 60 million of its citizens don’t have access to electricity.
But Egypt fears that if the reservoir behind the dam is filled quickly and if too much of the Nile waters are retained each year, the reduction of the river’s flow would have negative effects on Egypt’s agriculture.
Desalegn tried to reassure Egyptian during his visit to the country. “The people of Ethiopia did not nor will ever subject Egyptians to danger,” said Desalegn, in Cairo Saturday on his first visit to Egypt as prime minister. “We will not hurt your country in any way and will work closely together to secure the life of the people of the Nile basin and take them out of the cycle of poverty.”
While Ethiopia has said the dam is a “matter of life or death” for its people, Egypt has said water is a “matter of life or death” for its people.
Ethiopia leader rejects call for World Bank arbitration in dam dispute with Egypt
Reuters , Sunday 21 Jan 2018
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (R) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn talk during their meeting in the Egyptian Presidential Palace in Cairo, Egypt, January 18, 2018 in this handout (picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency, Reuters)
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Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has rejected a call by Egypt for World Bank arbitration in a dispute over a hydroelectric dam Addis Ababa is building along its share of the Nile.
The two countries are at odds over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, with Cairo fearing the project would restrict waters flowing down from Ethiopia’s highlands and through the deserts of Sudan to its fields and reservoirs.
The Horn of Africa country, which aims to become the continent’s biggest power exporter, says the $4 billion-dam will have no such impact.
With discussions deadlocked for months over the wording of a study on its environmental impact, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry proposed late last month that the World Bank be allowed to help settle the dispute.
“Seeking professional support is one thing, transferring (arbitration) to an institution is another thing. So we told them that this is not acceptable with our side,” the state-run Ethiopian News Agency quoted Hailemariam as saying.
The agency, which spoke to Hailemariam upon his return from Cairo on Friday, said he rejected the proposal and said: “It is possible to reach agreement … through cooperation and with the spirit of trust”.
After his meeting with the Ethiopian leader, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah ثl-Sisi pledged not to let differences over a construction of the dam ruin relations with Addis Ababa.
Countries that share the river have argued over the use of its waters for decades – and analysts have repeatedly warned that the disputes could eventually boil over into conflict.
Among the questions Ethiopia and Egypt disagree about is the speed at which the dam’s reservoir would be filled.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam – now 60 percent complete – will churn out 6,000 MW upon completion.
It is among an array of projects being built. Under a new 2015-2020 development plan, Addis Ababa wants to raise power generation to 17,346 MW from a current capacity of just over 4,300 MW from hydropower, wind and geothermal sources.