Egypt has eased stand over Nile after revolution, says Ethiopia

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

April 22, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia on Thursday said that the new government in Egypt has eased its long-standing position over Nile water after the Hosni Mubarak’s autocratic regime was toppled in an uprising earlier this year.

In a press conference, Foreign Affairs Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn said that Egyptian authorities are lately showing willingness to cooperate with the signatory countries to Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA).

“There’s a new momentum now in Egypt after the revolution, there’s desire from all sides that we should engage ourselves together, closing all the past chapters, because there were ups and downs in the past,” Desalegn said.

However, the Ethiopian official stressed that his country won’t allow Egyptian officials to conduct any inspection to the recently launched Grand Millennium dam.

“We are ready to negotiate and engage ourselves at the higher and technical level, but we are an independent country,” he said adding “The cooperative framework agreement which was signed by upstream countries in Entebe last year that gives this option to all countries, so we have to engage ourselves to an agreement where we can work together equally.”

Egypt has long warned Ethiopia against any dam construction over the Nile River refusing to change colonial-era treaties that gives Egypt to right to exploit the lion’s share of the Nile’s water.

Speaking to Associated Press, Egyptian ambassador to Ethiopia, Tarik Ghoneim said Egypt’s new government wants to start discussions with all nine Nile basin countries about using waters in the best interest of all.
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“We shouldn’t look back to the past,” Ghoneim said adding “It would be very healthy and good for us to be very transparent and be very open and discuss everything. This will lead us to finding this win-win situation.”

The ambassador said: “We have to know more details in order for us to engage in a project of this magnitude”.

He added, “we would like to listen to Ethiopia and understand more.”

Ethiopian officials have welcomed the offer. Sudan Tribune has learnt that an Egyptian delegation led by Egyptian Prime minister is expected to arrive in Addis Ababa in the near future for talks over Nile issues.

(ST)