Abou El-Enein Says Nile Water is 'Matter of Life and Death' for Egyptians

On Sunday, Parliament deputy speaker Mohamed Abou El-Enein, the honorary president of the  Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean, said that some people are deliberately trying to falsify news regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis.

Addressing the session of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliament that was held in Italy last week, Abou El Enein explained that the population of Egypt is currently about 110 million people, and its share of Nile water does not exceed 55 billion cubic meters, which is the same since its population was 17 million. He added that this means that the per capita share does not exceed 500 cubic meters annually.

The MP stressed that Egypt suffers from water scarcity, adding that Egypt’s share of Nile water is “a matter of life or death and one could touch the country’s share of the river.

The Prominent businessman warned that the failure to end the Renaissance Dam crisis would pose a serious threat to stability and development in this region.

He pointed out that there are many historical agreements that cannot be ignored, saying that the Ethiopian intransigence threatens the course of cooperation between the Nile Basin countries, despite the United States’ several calls to resume negotiations.

Abou El Enein called on to the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean to intervene to solve the GERD crisis, noting that Egypt always seeks to share its experiences with all Nile Basin countries, notably Ethiopia.

The MP expressed his disapproval of the unclear positions of some countries regarding the GERD crisis, stressing that this raises many doubts. He also warned against any foreign intervention to support Ethiopia at the expense of the downstream countries.

He underlined the importance of adopting a new vision by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean with a view to activating relations between the north and south countries of the Mediterranean and enhancing cooperation among them.

He added that the African Union has become one country thanks to the agreements signed among 55 countries in the field of trade, the free market, and the new trade exchange system, explaining that rapprochement with the southern of the South will open new spheres to the European Union countries.