CAIRO, Oct 27 (NNN-MENA) – Egypt has accepted a US invitation for a meeting with Sudan and Ethiopia, over a Nile dam dispute, the foreign ministry said.
The meeting, to be held in Washington, would bring together foreign ministers from the three Nile basin countries, to try to break the stalemate in talks, on Ethiopia’s giant hydro-power dam.
Egypt’s foreign ministry, said that, Cairo had “immediately accepted” the invitation from Washington, without specifying when the meeting would take place.
Egypt urged international mediation, after the latest round of talks, that ended earlier this month, had hit another “deadlock,” following nine years of thwarted efforts.
Ethiopia, which says its project is needed to provide much-needed electricity, has insisted the dam would not harm downstream countries’ water shares. But Egypt is concerned the huge dam would severely reduce the flow of Nile waters and invokes its “historic rights” under decades-old treaties.
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, said, “No force can stop Ethiopia from building the dam,” adding that, millions could be mobilised if necessary. However, he emphasised that, negotiations would be the best means to resolve the issue.
Last week, Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, announced, he would hold talks with the Ethiopian premier in Russia.
Both leaders are attending a Russia-Africa summit in Sochi this week.
Ethiopia said, the $4-billion dam will begin generating power by the end of 2020, and be fully operational by 2022.
The Nile serves as a crucial artery for water supplies and electricity for 10 countries it runs through. Its main tributaries — the White Nile and the Blue Nile — converge in Khartoum, before flowing north through Egypt to drain into the Mediterranean Sea.
Analysts fear the three Nile basin countries could be drawn into a conflict, if the dispute is not resolved before the dam begins operating.– NNN-MENA