Egypt hopes China can break deadlock in Nile dam dispute
Egypt has turned to China, hoping its leverage will help sway Ethiopia to negotiate on a deal over the dam’s water management.
CAIRO — Egypt is following a new policy course on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in latest bid to get Ethiopia to agree to sign a legally binding deal on the dam. Cairo is approaching Ethiopia's closest allies, starting with China.
During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the northwestern coastal city of Alamein on July 18, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, "Egypt is unwavering in its determination to protect its historical right to its water share from the Nile."
Ethiopia's second-stage filling of the dam's reservoir is close to completion.
Egypt, which took the dam issue to the United Nations Security Council on July 8, objected to the second-stage filling of the dam and accused Ethiopia of acting unilaterally and overlooking Egyptian concerns about the effects the disruption in the flow of the Nile would have on its people.
