Egypt approaches UNSC to mediate in landlocked water dispute with Ethiopia

Egypt has put in a petition with the United Nations Security Council to intervene in a longstanding dispute with Ethiopia over its gigantic Nile dam project, which Cairo fears would cut its vital water share.

Tensions have been running high amid lack of a consensus on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam after multiple rounds of talks over the years between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Last week, Egypt announced that negotiations with Ethiopia over the Renaissance Dam ended, since Addis Ababa had been “intransigent,” rejecting all proposed options and solutions, according to a statement by the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty.

It said the three-way talks have hit an impasse due to Ethiopia's "non-positive stances" and its "insistence to proceed with filling the dam unilaterally."

The Nile, which provides nearly 97 percent of Egypt's freshwater needs, is a lifeline supply of both water and electricity to the 10 countries it traverses.

Addis Ababa already had plans to start filling the dam next month, regardless of whether a deal was reached.

Ethiopia hopes to begin filling the dam during the rainy season, which will start next month, allowing operations for the Dam to start in 2021. The Ethiopian government refutes Egyptian claims that the dam will have a detrimental effect on the downstream water flow into Sudan and Egypt.

According to the Ethiopians, the dam will supply electricity for its citizens, boost its development and generate foreign exchange through the sales of the electricity to its neighbors.

MG