Egypt's Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Atty held talks on Wednesday with EU Special Representative to the Horn of Africa Annette Weber, in the presence of the EU ambassador in Cairo Christian Berger.
During the meeting, they exchanged views regarding cooperation between both sides in the field of water, and the current position of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) negotiations.
Abdel-Atty explained that the water sector in Egypt faces many challenges, foremost of which are the unilateral measures of the Ethiopian side, the population increase, the negative effects of climate change, as well as the limited water resources.
Moreover, he referred to the great flexibility shown by Egypt during the various negotiation stages, as it is always keen to reach an agreement and build confidence.
Abdel Atty also stressed that Egypt did not object building dams on the Nile, noting that there are more than 15 dams erected in the Nile Basin countries, including dams built before the establishment of the High Dam.
In addition, the Egyptian minister affirmed that achieving cooperation requires political will and seriousness from the Ethiopian side to reach an agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD, pointing out that issuing false statements about the dam leads to confusion in the water management system in Egypt and Sudan, and harms the downstream countries.
He also added that reaching an agreement on the Renaissance Dam would pave the way for achieving regional cooperation and integration.
On her part, Weber stressed that the European Union (EU) seeks to push the path of negotiations on the GERD , to reach an agreement that satisfies all parties, guarantees the stability and development of countries, and meets the requirements of regional integration by achieving interconnection between water and energy, infrastructure integration and trade in light of climate change.
Follow the latest news on Google News
