Egypt insists that Ethiopia honor obligations regarding flow of waters of the Nile River, Prime Minister Hisham Kandil re-affirmed.
Ethiopia must abide by the pertinent commitments and abstain from taking action detrimental to Egypt’s share of the Nile waters, the premier was quoted by the premiership spokesman Ambassador Alaa Al-Hadidi as saying on Saturday.
Cairo is awaiting a report, due to be prepared by the tripartite commission, grouping experts from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, on effects of construction of Al-Nehda Dam in Ethiopia, he added.
The official spokesman said the premier made the re-assertion during an encounter with his Ethiopian counterpart on sidelines of an international conference in Japan, on Friday.
Kandil was also quoted as re-stressing that states that benefit from the vital river must coordinate and consult on optimum and fair usage of the waters.
Egypt has addressed a stern message to Ethiopia stressing that waters of the Nile are of paramount importance for the Egyptian people and that Cairo expects the Ethiopian side honor pertinent obligations said on Thursday.
Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohammad Idriss, held talks with senior officials of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry to express the Egyptian unwavering and explicit stance “regarding the water interests of the Egyptian people, as a matter of life and existence and that any infringement on it targets the higher interests of Egypt.” The people of Egypt are shocked and upset due to Ethiopia’s decision to alter course of the river, MENA quoted the ambassador as telling the Ethiopian officials.
On Wednesday, Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Ethiopian Ambassador in Cairo Mahmoud Dardir over Ethiopia’s recent move of diverting the course of the river for construction of its Renaissance Dam.
The Blue Nile provides Egypt with the lion’s share of its annual 55 billion cubic meters of river water.
Egypt is believed to need an additional 21 billion cubic meters of water per year by 2050 – on top of its current quota of 55 billion meters – to meet the needs of a projected population of 150 million.
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Source: Arab News Agency (ANA) – June 1, 2013
