FM heads to Ethiopia for Nile dam talks

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry will head for Addis Ababa on Tuesday for talks on the under-construction Renaissance Dam.

The visit comes as part of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry’s efforts to break the stalemate in technical negotiations about the dam, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid.

Delegations from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia met in Cairo in November to approve a study by a French firm commissioned to assess the dam’s environmental and economic impact.

But negotiations stalled when they failed to agree on the initial report.

During his talks with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu, Shoukry will float ideas aiming at helping both Sudan and Ethiopia approve the preliminary report that sets guidelines for conducting technical studies of the dam.

The spokesman said Egypt is concerned about the slow progress of the dam’s technical negotiations which mainly aim at pinpointing the possible effects of Ethiopia dam on Egypt’s water quota.

Under the Declaration of Principles in 2015, Ethiopia should not start filling or operating the dam until after the end of technical negotiations.

The spokesman hoped that the two sides would reach an understanding that would break the current stalemate in technical negotiations.

The 6,000-megawatt dam is built by Italy’s largest construction firm, Salini Impregilo SpA and is due to be completed next year.

During the visit, Shoukry will also set the scene for Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn’s visit to Egypt in January. (MENA)