11 July 2020; MEMO: Ethiopia’s “very strict” stance on some of the technical and legal points relating to the Renaissance Dam talks greatly reduces the chance of agreement, Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced on Thursday.
Speaking to Egyptian TV DMC, Spokesman for the ministry Mohamed Al-Sebaei disclosed: “The Egyptian proposal regarding the Renaissance Dam is flexible.”
He added: “Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will work together in the coming two days to sort out the technical and legal issues.”
Meanwhile, he stressed: “Until now, we did not reach an agreement on these two points, which are the backbone of the differences.”
Al-Sebaei noted that the drought during the years of filling the dam and operating it are the main technical issues for Egypt.
He pointed out that Ethiopia rejected the inclusion of certain legal points relating to resolutions of conflicts.
According to Al-Sebaei, Ethiopia insists on unilaterally operating the dam, managing and amending it without any coordination with the downstream countries, as well as rejecting committing to any other obligations.
Regarding Sudan, Al-Sebaei acknowledged that it is trying to reach an agreement to serve its own interests, as well as solving the technical issues with regards to the safety of the dam.
