Egypt's choices narrow on the Nile dam crisis
Egypt is working on avoiding any military conflict regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as it explores available options for the next stage.
CAIRO — In an interview with Bloomberg television on Sept. 8, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Egypt is committed to talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) crisis and wants to avoid any military conflict.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel Aty told Al-Jazeera on Sept. 6 about “diplomatic actions regarding the GERD.” He explained that “these actions cannot be announced unless they are fruitful.” He did not provide any further details about their nature.
Following a five-month stalemate since the last round of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in Kinshasa under the auspices of the African Union (AU) on April 6, Egypt called on the UN Security Council to look into the case. On July 8, the world body recommended the resumption of negotiations under the AU.
On July 19, Ethiopia announced the completion of the second filling of the dam’s reservoir without an agreement with its downstream neighbors Egypt and Sudan, which escalated tensions between the three Nile Basin countries.
