Ethiopia Rejects Arab Support for Egypt and Sudan in Dam Dispute

Ethiopia rejected the Arab support directed to Cairo and Khartoum in the issue of the “Renaissance Dam” dispute, which is represented in the “Jeddah Declaration” issued by the 32nd Arab Summit, which considered “water security for both Egypt and Sudan an integral part of Arab water security,” rejecting any action that prejudices their rights. in the Nile waters.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement it issued (Monday evening), considered what was included in the Arab Summit resolutions “attempts by Egypt to pressure Addis Ababa in the Ethiopian (Renaissance Dam) file through the Arab League.”

The statement said that Ethiopia “will continue to respect the principle of fair and reasonable use of the Nile waters,” but Egypt and Sudan say that it “refuses to reach a comprehensive and binding legal agreement regarding the operation of the dam and the storage of water behind it.”

And while Cairo did not issue an official response to the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry’s statement, Egyptian observers and experts who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat considered the Ethiopian position “a continuation of Addis Ababa’s procrastination and wasting time to evade reaching a binding legal agreement regarding the management and operation of the dam,” noting that “ The decisions of the Arab summit hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia related to water security represented (strong support) for Egyptian and Sudanese water rights, at a time when Ethiopia is preparing for the fourth filling of the (Renaissance Dam) during the summer of this year.

The Council of the League of Arab States at the summit level issued a number of decisions during its summit that was held last Friday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, among them was “an affirmation that water security for both Egypt and Sudan is an integral part of Arab water security.” The decision stressed the “rejection of Any action that affects their rights in the Nile waters.

Negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the dam have stalled since January 2021, and Egypt resorted to the Security Council in July 2020, but the latter urged the three countries to resume negotiations, at the invitation of the President of the African Union, with the aim of finalizing an agreement. Acceptable and binding on the parties, and quickly, regarding the filling and operation of the “Renaissance Dam”, within a reasonable time frame, which has not been achieved so far.

Earlier this month, the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, did not rule out the possibility of Egypt resorting to the Security Council in the future regarding the issue of the Ethiopian dam, stressing in televised statements that “the matter is subject to estimates and developments of the situation and calculations of future interests.”

For his part, Ambassador Salah Halima, the former Egyptian Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs, described the Ethiopian statement on the “Jeddah Declaration” as “a persistence on the part of Addis Ababa in ignoring the legitimate Egyptian and Sudanese rights in the Nile waters,” considering the Ethiopian refusal “ignoring many similar recommendations.” Issued by other international and regional institutions such as the Security Council and the African Union itself.

Halima added to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Ethiopian statement “reflects a continuation of ignoring the principles of international law that indicate the necessity of not causing significant harm to the countries participating in international rivers,” noting that “international law has made sovereignty shared over international rivers such as the Nile, And Ethiopia insists on ignoring that.”

Egypt fears that its share of the Nile water will be affected by the construction of the Ethiopian dam, and calls on Cairo and Khartoum for a binding legal agreement that regulates the filling and operation of the dam.

On the other hand, Ethiopia insists on the need to keep the issue of the “Renaissance Dam” within the African framework, and refuses to internationalize the crisis. It also clings to its right to exploit the Nile waters without coordination with the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan), and considers this a “sovereign matter.”

Dr. Ayman El-Sayed Abdel-Wahhab, deputy director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, and an expert specializing in African issues and water affairs, said that the statement of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry “does not carry anything new,” pointing out that this “offensive” method was used by Addis Ababa more than once against the Security Council. And the Arab League, and in various international forums.

Abdel-Wahhab added to Asharq Al-Awsat that the sharp tone that characterized the statement “reflects Ethiopian fear and dismay over Egypt’s success in turning the issue of the (Renaissance Dam) into an international issue,” noting that this approach “has been continuing since 2012 after the issuance of the international experts’ report.” Which proved the damage caused by the dam to the two downstream countries, which prompted Addis Ababa to consider that any international move, whether technical or political, would put them in a major dilemma.

The deputy director of the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies indicated that Ethiopia insists on keeping the “Renaissance Dam” file within the corridors of the African Union, in which he said that it “has great influence in it, which made it abort any attempts to pressure it in this regard.”

He explained that the timing of the “Jeddah Declaration” doubled the pressure on Addis Ababa, especially with its readiness for the fourth filling, but he added that this pressure “does not necessarily mean a change in the Ethiopian position,” expressing his expectation that Ethiopia will proceed with its time-consuming approach, without any commitment to my downstream state.