Ashraf AboArafe
Dr. Badr Abdel Aati, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, addressed a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council today, September 1, 2024, following the recent statements of the Ethiopian Prime Minister regarding the fifth phase of filling the “Renaissance Dam”.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed Egypt’s categorical rejection of the Ethiopian unilateral policies that violate the rules and principles of international law, and constitute a clear violation of the Declaration of Principles Agreement signed between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in 2015 and the Presidential Statement of the Security Council issued on September 15, 2021, noting that the statements of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed about withholding a quantity of Blue Nile water this year and completing the construction of the concrete structure of the Ethiopian dam are completely unacceptable to the Egyptian state, and represent a continuation of the Ethiopian approach that causes trouble with its neighbors and threatens the stability of the region, most of whose countries aspire to enhance cooperation and integration among them, instead of sowing the seeds of discord and differences between peoples linked by bonds of brotherhood and a common destiny. The Egyptian letter to the Security Council also explained that the end of the negotiations on the “Renaissance Dam” after 13 years of negotiations with sincere Egyptian intentions came after it became clear to everyone that Addis Ababa only wants to continue the existence of a negotiating cover for an indefinite period in order to establish a fait accompli, without having the political will to reach a solution, while seeking to legitimize its unilateral policies that contradict international law, and hiding behind baseless claims that these policies are based on the right of peoples to development, stressing that Egypt has always been at the forefront of countries supporting development in the Nile Basin countries, and that development is achieved for all in the event of commitment to cooperative practices reflected in international law, not harming others, and strengthening regional interconnectedness. In his speech to the Security Council, the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that Ethiopia’s illegal policies will have serious negative effects on the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. Although the rise in the Nile flood level in recent years and the great efforts made by the Egyptian state have contributed to dealing with the negative effects of the unilateral actions of the Renaissance Dam in the past years, Egypt remains closely monitoring developments and is ready to take all measures and steps guaranteed by the United Nations Charter to defend its existence and the capabilities and interests of its people.
The Supreme Committee for Nile Waters met last week, headed by the Prime Minister, and affirmed Egypt’s right to defend its water security and take the necessary measures to achieve this at various levels. The committee also discussed ways to enhance cooperation in the Nile Basin in light of Egypt’s conviction of the need to combine efforts to attract funding to implement development projects in the sister Nile Basin countries in accordance with internationally agreed upon cooperative practices, which would contribute to the prosperity and prosperity of all, and avoid drifting into the horizons of tension and poverty sharing that could result from Ethiopia’s non-cooperative policies.
