Egypt’s PM, ministers to address parliament in Ethiopia

Parliamentary speaker Ali Abdel-Aal told MPs on Tuesday that the government will give parliament greater details on the result of recent negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Abdel-Aal said Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel-Ati will come to parliament on Wednesday to deliver important statements on GERD.

Following several days of ministerial negotiations on the operation and filling of the dam in Khartoum last week, a spokesman for the Egyptian Ministry of Water Recourses and Irrigation said on Saturday Ethiopia had presented a new proposal during the meetings that was a step back from all the principles previously agreed upon for the filling and operation of the dam.

Egypt has expressed its concerns that when in operation, GERD will drastically reduce its current 55 billion cubic metres of water from the Nile annually, especially during its first filling.

The Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said last month that a two percent decline in Egypt’s Nile water share would turn 200,000 feddans of agricultural land into non-arable land.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed tweeted on Saturday that his country “stands ready to resolve any differences and outstanding concerns by consultation among the three countries.”

Source: ahram Online