As Egypt focuses its efforts on containing the COVID-19 pandemic inside the boundaries of the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been maintaining attempts to reach an agreement over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). However, even without an agreement, Ethiopia recently announced that it would start filing its ambitious mega dam in July 2020. Earlier this month, Ethiopia’s obstinate decision despite a failure to reach an agreement with Sudan and Egypt prompted the latter to submit a complaint letter to the UN Security Council. “Ethiopia’s unilateral filling of GERD before reaching a final agreement with downstream countries on the rules governing the filling and dam operation is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation between co-riparian countries that share an international watercourse and amounts to material breach of Ethiopia’s legal obligations,” reads the letter, according to the East African news outlet. Ethiopia’s move to proceed with engineering, construction and filing operations despite the diplomatic efforts to reach the agreement constitute a major hurdle for its downstream neighbors whose water shares in the Nile are significant and historical. It also highlighted the failure of diplomatic…
GERD Filling Plan Trudges On Despite Egyptian Concern Amidst COVID-19
May 14, 2020
