Ethiopia has no serious problem with Sudan over Nile - official
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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
May 4, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) – An Ethiopian official said on Wednesday
that Sudan has been showing an encouraging interest to cooperate in
resolving the long crises over the Nile’s water and is not considered
as problem to Ethiopia over the issue.
JPEG - 19.1 kb
A Sudanese farmer from Tuti island, where the White Nile and Blue Nile
merge, tries to recover a water pump from floodwaters of the Nile near
Khartoum, Sudan Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 (AP)
“We don’t have a serious problem with Sudan. We have cordial relations
with both north and south Sudan” Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman
Dina Mufti told Sudan Tribune.
South Sudan is due to separate from the north in July following a
referendum in July, agreed as part of a 2005 peace deal.
Mufti said: “The Sudanese officials have been expressing desire
towards solving the Nile row in cooperating with Ethiopia on equitable
utilization.”
Egypt has been warning against any further dam building on the Nile
water as it is concerned about the impact they will have on its
historical water rights. Ethiopia have said the new dams they are
building will not affect the flow of the water downstream and will
bring large benefits to the country. According to Dina Mufti, Ethiopia
has allowed a team of Sudanese and Egyptian experts along with other
Ethiopian and international scientists, to observe the new dam.
“Sudan supports Ethiopia’s project on Nile as it learns the benefits
in terms of electric power supply and regular water flow” foreign
Affairs Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn said at a recent press
conference.
“In addition to obtaining electric power supply, Sudan and Egypt could
also benefit from enough and regulated water flow and decreased
siltation” he said.
Ethiopian officials argue that, 19 billion cubic meters of water is
wasted through evaporation in downstream countries while the Grand
Renaissance Dam in Ethiopia would lower the number to 0.4 billion
cubic meters.
Ethiopia announced last month it was building a $4.78-billion mega dam
on the Blue Nile near the Sudanese border.
Egypt last week sent a 48-member popular public diplomacy delegation
to pave a new approach in smooth its relations with Ethiopia over the
water row. In respond to an encouraging gesture seen from the
delegation, the Ethiopian government has agreed to delay ratifying the
new Nile pact agreed by six Africa countries in Entebbe that seeks a
change to the 1929 colonial era pact by Britain that gave lion’s share
of the water to Egypt.
Ethiopia said the delay was made to allow Egypt to elect a new
government after weeks of street protests brought down the Hosni
Mubarek’s government in February.
Following the Entebbe agreement, Addis Ababa has rejected any
bilateral dealing with Egypt.
The foreign affairs spokes person confirmed to Sudan Tribune that the
Egyptian prime minister will arrive in Addis Ababa next week in which
a number of agreements are expected to be signed with his Ethiopian
counterpart.
When asked if there will be any bilateral deal to be signed between
the two parties he said it is too early to comment.
“This is speculation; any agreements will be done after the meeting
and a rumor on any bilateral deal is only hypothetical” Mufti said.
(ST)
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