Egypt water rights are not subject to compromise: Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson

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CAIRO: “Ethiopia shows total indifference to the Nile Basin countries by continuing to construct the Renaissance Dam when negotiations have reached an impasse,” Ayman Shabana, expert on African affairs, told CBC Extra TV channel Wednesday.

Several futile rounds of negotiations between Egypt and Ethiopia on the dam have been conducted, Shabana said, adding that Egypt must find alternatives to negotiations to prompt Ethiopia to halt the dam’s construction.

Shabana said no state is entitled to practice absolute control over the Nile River since it is owned by all the countries in which it runs, adding that Ethiopia is breaking all international conventions and rules of fairness regulating the use of international watercourses.

“Ethiopia should respond to requests by international experts for information on the dam to evaluate its effects on the environment and the amount of water it will obstruct…As well as information on its security standards since it lies within an area of seismic activity,” MENA quoted Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Badr Abdel Atty as telling Radio Sawa Wednesday.

While Egypt believes in dialogue; its water rights are not subject to compromise, Atty said.

Originally published in Youm7.

By RUFAIDA AWADEIN and HAGAR HOSSAM