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Ethiopia - Egypt: A tug of war over the Nile basin
Egypt makes offers but Ethiopia won’t budge
9 May, 2009 | Afrik.com
by Desalegn Sisay
Despite a generous offer made by visiting Egyptian minister of Water
Rosources and Irrigation, Dr. Mohamed Nasr Eldin Allam, Ethiopian
Minister of Water Resources, Asfaw Dingamo, has stood by his
government’s firm stance to continue with its decision to protect the
upper riparian (Nile basin) countries. The Ethiopian position seeks to
limit Egypt and Sundan’s indiscriminate use of the Nile’s water
resource. The Egyptian Minister visited Ethiopia this week.
The Egyptian minister, appointed March 11, 2009, replaces Mahmoud
Abu Zeid, who had been criticized for his weak negotiations on Nile
issues. Egypt claims his replacement was due to a health related
problem. Dr. Mohamed Nasr Eldin Allam, the new minister, is touring
Nile riparian countries, a move criticised as lobbying to maintain Egypt’s
grip on the Nile basin.
The visiting minister held closed door discussions with top Ethiopian
Government officials, including Asfaw Dingamo, Minister of Water
Resource. Talking to the press, Mr. Asfaw Dingamo indicated that Dr.
Eldin Allam had expressed his country’s (Egypt) willingness to
cooperate with Ethiopia and also provide Ethiopian water experts with a
high level all-expense-paid training. “We accepted the new Egyptian
minister’s offer,” Asfaw said. The training will be conducted by an
Egyptian based training institute which offers short term Applied
Training Programmes to all Nile countries, and is run by The Nile Basin.
The offer, however, does little to change Ethiopia’s unrelenting position
on regulations affecting the subject of Nile sharing since negotiations
among all Nile countries began, about a decade ago.
demanding that the Nile sharing programme should be free of any
agreements that may prove detrimental to some countries, remains the
main bone of contention.
An Ethiopian proposed article that deals with the possibility of water
sharing without causing significant harm to other riparian countries has
caused negotiating countries to split into two major blocks: Upper
riparian countries, consisting of a host of countries under Ethiopia’s
leadership including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and Burundi; and lower riparian countries, made up of
Egypt and Sudan.
The two lower riparian countries, Egypt and Sudan, have indicated that
they will not endorse the Ethipian proposed article unless a clause that
guarantees that there will be no damage to water security is inserted.
However, this clause if accepted, will allow the two countries to
continue using the Nile water resource intensively and extensively,
experts say. The division has halted the Nile Basin Ministerial Council
sponsored negotiation process.
“We explained our stance to the Egyptian Minister and told him to
lighten the gloomy negotiations,” Asfaw told Capital.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the current chair of the
Nile Council of Ministers, however, Egypt will take over in the month of
July, which may give it an opportunity to influence other nations. But
before then, a final conference, to be hosted by DRC is expected to
highlight a three point proposal that could improve Ethiopia’s position if
endorsed by the Nile Basin member countries, Mr. Asfaw said.
Egypt makes offers but Ethiopia won’t budge
9 May, 2009 | Afrik.com
by Desalegn Sisay
Despite a generous offer made by visiting Egyptian minister of Water
Rosources and Irrigation, Dr. Mohamed Nasr Eldin Allam, Ethiopian
Minister of Water Resources, Asfaw Dingamo, has stood by his
government’s firm stance to continue with its decision to protect the
upper riparian (Nile basin) countries. The Ethiopian position seeks to
limit Egypt and Sundan’s indiscriminate use of the Nile’s water
resource. The Egyptian Minister visited Ethiopia this week.
The Egyptian minister, appointed March 11, 2009, replaces Mahmoud
Abu Zeid, who had been criticized for his weak negotiations on Nile
issues. Egypt claims his replacement was due to a health related
problem. Dr. Mohamed Nasr Eldin Allam, the new minister, is touring
Nile riparian countries, a move criticised as lobbying to maintain Egypt’s
grip on the Nile basin.
The visiting minister held closed door discussions with top Ethiopian
Government officials, including Asfaw Dingamo, Minister of Water
Resource. Talking to the press, Mr. Asfaw Dingamo indicated that Dr.
Eldin Allam had expressed his country’s (Egypt) willingness to
cooperate with Ethiopia and also provide Ethiopian water experts with a
high level all-expense-paid training. “We accepted the new Egyptian
minister’s offer,” Asfaw said. The training will be conducted by an
Egyptian based training institute which offers short term Applied
Training Programmes to all Nile countries, and is run by The Nile Basin.
The offer, however, does little to change Ethiopia’s unrelenting position
on regulations affecting the subject of Nile sharing since negotiations
among all Nile countries began, about a decade ago.
The negotiations aim to
amend an exclusive 1959
agreement signed between
Egypt and Sudan that
expressly excluded Ethiopia,
despite the country’s 85 per
cent contribution to the Nile’s
water resource.
demanding that the Nile sharing programme should be free of any
agreements that may prove detrimental to some countries, remains the
main bone of contention.
An Ethiopian proposed article that deals with the possibility of water
sharing without causing significant harm to other riparian countries has
caused negotiating countries to split into two major blocks: Upper
riparian countries, consisting of a host of countries under Ethiopia’s
leadership including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) and Burundi; and lower riparian countries, made up of
Egypt and Sudan.
The two lower riparian countries, Egypt and Sudan, have indicated that
they will not endorse the Ethipian proposed article unless a clause that
guarantees that there will be no damage to water security is inserted.
However, this clause if accepted, will allow the two countries to
continue using the Nile water resource intensively and extensively,
experts say. The division has halted the Nile Basin Ministerial Council
sponsored negotiation process.
“We explained our stance to the Egyptian Minister and told him to
lighten the gloomy negotiations,” Asfaw told Capital.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is the current chair of the
Nile Council of Ministers, however, Egypt will take over in the month of
July, which may give it an opportunity to influence other nations. But
before then, a final conference, to be hosted by DRC is expected to
highlight a three point proposal that could improve Ethiopia’s position if
endorsed by the Nile Basin member countries, Mr. Asfaw said.
| The Enduring Food Crisis and Legal Politics of the Nile. "While the annual inundations of 'our river' presented the foundation of one of the most stable and structured eco-political society of human history in the lower most reaches and.. More |
| “Ethiopia has the right to build dams” "..For several decades, Egypt succeeded in blocking Ethiopia from raising international project finance for irrigation and building dams for electricity, immensely contributing to the perpetuation of cycles of drought and famine and, hence, abject poverty in Ethiopia. Moreover, since the days of President Sadat, Egypt had declared intention to go to war if Ethiopia built dams on the Nile River. Times changed and the rapprochement with Sudan compelled Egypt in 2004 at a trilateral meeting of Egypt, Ethiopia and the Sudan to recognize for the first time Ethiopia’s right of use of the water. The Egyptian declaration came through Mr. Mahmud Abu Zeid, the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources, who uttered that famous sentence, “Ethiopia has the right to build dams.” Genet Mersha |
| NILE (Wikipedia) " The Abbai portion of the river is considered holy by many in Ethiopia, and is believed to be the Gihon river mentioned as flowing out of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 2.[1] The Abay portion of the Blue Nile rises at Lake Tana and flows for some thirty kilometers before plunging over the Tis Issat Falls. The river then loops across northwest Ethiopia through a series of deep valleys and canyons into Sudan, by which point it is only known as the Blue Nile. More |
