Egypt considers Ethiopia’s announcement of completing the fourth filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Sunday as a “new violation by Addis Ababa and a burden on the ongoing negotiations between them.”
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued the statement in response to Ethiopia’s declaration regarding the completion of the fourth filling of the GERD reservoir.
The statement added that this filing “constitutes Ethiopia’s continued violation of the Declaration of Principles signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan in 2015.”
The Declaration of Principles stipulates the need for the three countries to agree on the rules for filling and operating the Ethiopian dam before commencing the filling process.
The Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out that “Ethiopia’s unilateral actions constitute a disregard for the interests and rights of the downstream countries and their water security, which is guaranteed by international law.”
It emphasized that “this Ethiopian approach and its resulting negative consequences put a burden on the path of resumed negotiations, which were scheduled to be completed within four months.”
The statement expressed hope that the upcoming round of negotiations, to be held in Addis Ababa, would witness “tangible and genuine progress towards reaching an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.”
On Sunday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the success of the fourth and final filling of the GERD, while the past three years have seen annual fillings that were met with rejection from Egypt and Sudan.
On July 13th, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi and Abiy Ahmed agreed to commence “urgent” negotiations regarding the rules for filling and operating the dam, which were to conclude within four months.
Cairo and Khartoum insist on first reaching a binding agreement with Addis Ababa on the filling and operation of the dam to ensure the continued flow of their water shares from the Nile River. Meanwhile, Ethiopia asserts that it does not aim to harm the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.
Ethiopia is set to host the next round of negotiations in September of this year in Addis Ababa, as announced by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on August 28th, without specifying a date.