Egypt’s deputy foreign minister on African affairs has accused Ethiopia of “buying time” through negotiations while continuing to fill its disputed Nile dam without an agreement.
Lately, the minister condemned statements by Ethiopia that had accused Cairo of “politicising” the Nile dam dispute.
The fresh row received mixed reactions in Egyptian local media.
Prominent pro-state host, Ahmed Moussa, said Addis Ababa intentionally built the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to “harm” Egypt and Sudan.
Opposition TV host, Muhammad Nasser, blamed Egyptian government and media for not taking a stronger stance against the issue.
Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have been embroiled in a years-long dispute over the dam, which Sudan and Egypt fear would reduce their shares of water from the River Nile.
The latest talks to resolve the dispute between Ethiopia and Egypt over the future of a giant hydropower project on the Nile River are due to resume in Washington later.
Last year, a deadline of January 15 was set to solve the long-standing impasse but the latest round of talks, last week, ended in deadlock.
When complete, the Grand Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia is building, will be Africa’s biggest hydroelectric power plant.
Its construction began in 2011 on the Blue Nile tributary in the northern Ethiopia highlands, from where 85 per cent of the Nile’s waters flow.
However, the mega dam has caused a row between Egypt and Ethiopia, with Sudan caught in between, which some fear could lead to war, and the US is now helping to mediate.
At the centre of the dispute are plans to fill up the mega dam as Egypt fears the project will allow Ethiopia to control the flow of Africa’s longest river.
Hydroelectric power stations do not consume water, but the speed with which Ethiopia fills up the dam’s reservoir will affect the flow downstream. —BBC
The post Egypt accuses Ethiopia of ‘buying time’ in Nile dam row appeared first on Ghanaian Times.
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