The statement came following a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in New York on Thursday, per the request of Egypt and Sudan.
“I would like to reassure the Egyptian and Sudanese people that they will never be badly harmed due to the GERD’s filling because it will only take a small amount of the water flow,” Ahmed said in a statement published in Arabic on his social media account.
The Ethiopian prime minister said that the Sudanese Rosires Dam will not face huge fluctuations in the flow, he added, saying that the surrounding communities can rest easily.
The Ethiopian prime minister’s statement came following a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in New York on Thursday, per the request of Egypt and Sudan.
In the UNSC meeting that lasted for over three hours, members called on Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt to complete their talks, to settle the dispute over the GERD, under the umbrella of the African Union, in good faith and away from any unilateral action or agitating statements, in the pursuit of a deal that could allow the three countries to reach an agreement that accommodates their aspirations and concerns.
Foreign ministers of Egypt and Sudan, Sameh Shoukry and Mariam Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi addressed the meeting, expressing the growing concerns of the two downstream countries over the construction of the mega dam on the Blue Nile by Ethiopia, the upstream state, without any agreement or coordination with Egypt and Sudan.
Egypt’s foreign minister told the meeting that Cairo will have to “uphold and protect its inherent right to life” if no legal agreement is reached on the GERD.
During her speech, the Sudanese foreign minister spoke on how the GERD is considered a threat to her country’s Rosiries Dam if Ethiopia continues the second filling unilaterally without a legal binding agreement on the filling and operation policies of the dam on Sunday
On the other hand, Ethiopia’s Minister of Water Resources Seleshi Bekele denied any harm caused by the GERD to the downstream countries and at the same time declined any role of the UNSC in managing the dispute over the GERD. He also made no promises that Ethiopia would refrain from unilateralism pending the finalisation of an agreement under the AU-led negotiations.
