Thumbs up for diplomacy as the leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia say they have made progress in their talks on sharing the waters of the Nile River. The two countries have been trying for months to settle a dispute over the dam which Ethiopia is building on the Nile River that Egypt believed will threaten its water supplies.
Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam, estimated to cost at least $4 billion, will be Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam. Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, assured Cairo on Wednesday that the dam would not reduce Egypt’s share of the waters from the River Nile.
At a news conference in Cairo, PM Ahmed, who was sitting by the side of the Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, said Ethiopia has “no desire or idea to harm the Egyptian people. We believe that we should benefit from this river, the Nile, but when we benefit we should not do harm to the Egyptian people.”
The three nations most dependent on the Nile – Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia – have been holding negotiations for months on the shared use of the water after the massive dam is built.
Egypt has been particularly concerned that the dam, which is being built on the river’s main tributary, will divert too much water and place pressure on its fresh drinking-water supply, agriculture and industry.
