Egypt would suffer most if Ethiopian Dam concerns are not met

Cairo is the main party that could be affected by the construction of Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) if Egypt's concerns are not taken into consideration, Egypt’s foreign minister Sameh Shoukry told his Ethiopian counterpart, Workneh Gebeyehu, Saturday on the sidelines of African Union preparatory meetings.

In an official statement by Egypt’s foreign ministry, spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry reiterated to Gebeyehu a request by Egypt’s water and irrigation minister to his Ethiopian and Sudanese counterparts on holding an urgent meeting of the tripartite committee to follow up on an initial report delivered by foreign consultancy firms, that the committee did not settle on till now.

Earlier in June, Egypt said it was still discussing with Ethiopia a report issued by two firms, Arterlia and BRL, tasked with assessing the impact of GERD on downstream countries, with talks being held since April.

“The request to ensure a move forward with studies and preparations within the agreed timeframe,” the statement read, with Shoukry calling on his Ethiopian counterpart to respond to the Egyptian demand promptly.

The studies by the French firms, expected to take 11 months from their start date in late 2016, will include the managing of water and hydroelectric resources as well as an assessment of the cross-border environmental, social and economic impact of the mega project......http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/271820.aspx
 1/7/17
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Related:

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• Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan reach preliminary deal on Nile dam
• Ethiopia insists that it must build a series of dams. Dialogue only way to bridge Ethiopia-Egypt gap. -PM