Egyptian minister hopes on-hold dam talks will resume soon 

CAIRO: An Egyptian minister said he hoped that talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which are currently on hold, would resume soon.

Ethiopia began work on the dam in 2011. Egypt fears the GERD will threaten its water supply from the Nile, while Sudan is concerned about the dam’s safety and its own water flow.

Talks between the three countries over the filling and operation of the dam have come to a halt.

Egypt’s Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Aty said he hoped the talks would resume soon and that there would be a speedy negotiation process.

But he also stressed that Egypt would not accept unilateral illegal behavior in the waters of the Nile, saying there would be a “water shock” if Ethiopia started the second filling process.

“It is simply like someone who earns an income of EGP100 ($6.40) per month and then gets levied taxes that amount to EGP27. This represents a shock to the employee, which is exactly the case of the second filling. This shock will be estimated at 27 percent of the water share reaching the downstream countries.”

He added that Egypt’s water consumption reached 80 billion cubic meters on an annual basis and needed to reach 114 billion cubic meters.

“There is no country in Africa that reuses water like Egypt, and we reuse water at least four times.”

There was intense diplomatic activity earlier this month, with Jeffrey Feltman, US envoy to the Horn of Africa, and Felix Tshisekedi, president of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the current session of the African Union, holding talks in an effort to reach a settlement.

Abdel-Aty said the US envoy had listened to all stakeholders but had yet to make a proposal.

Egypt and Sudan are calling for a binding and comprehensive deal that guarantees the rights and interests of all three countries.