Egypt looks to Kenya for Security Council support in Nile dam crisis

George Mikhail

Kenya has expressed certain sympathy for the problems the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile might cause for Sudan and Egypt because another Ethiopian dam caused issues for Lake Turkana in northern Kenya. Here, an aerial image taken on June 30, 2018, shows a part of Turkana South Island in Lake Turkana, the world's largest desert lake, in northern Kenya. A UNESCO panel has added Lake Turkana to the list of endangered World Heritage Sites. — YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt is seeking to win Kenya’s support for its stance on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as Kenya is Africa’s representative at the UN Security Council. Egypt is considering the option of formally taking the dam issue to the United Nations.

Indeed, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry made Kenya the first stop on his tour to mobilize African support for Cairo's position on the dam.

On April 19, Shoukry met with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. An Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement said Shoukry told Kenyatta that Egypt hopes an agreement on the dam can be reached "that preserves the security and stability of the region.”

The statement spoke of the “pioneering Kenyan role in Africa on several levels and its nonpermanent membership in the Security Council as representative of Africa.”

Egypt looks to Kenya for Security Council support in Nile dam crisis

Egypt and Sudan are trying to secure the support of Kenya, Africa’s representative on the UN Security Council, in the dispute over the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

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