Eritrea supports Egypt’s position over Nile water dispute
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle April 18, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Eritrean government said this week that it supports Egypt’s stance over a colonial-era treaty that granted Egypt a right to utilise the lions share of Nile
By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
April 18, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Eritrean government said this week that it supports Egypt’s stance over a colonial-era treaty that granted Egypt a right to utilise the lions share of Nile river’s water resources.
The Red Sea nation expressed its support in a message sent from the Eritrean president and delivered to Egypt’s president by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs, Yemane Gebreab.
The Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, has highly welcomed Eritrea’s position towards Egypt’s “historic rights” over the sharing of the water of the Nile River.
Morsi said that he looks forward to meeting his Eritrean counterpart.
Although Ethiopia is the source of 85% of the Nile’s water, downriver countries, Egypt and Sudan, use 51 billion and 18 billion square meters a year respectively, around 90% of the Nile’s resources.
In April 2010, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania signed a new agreement in Entebbe, Uganda, to overturn a colonial-era treaty seeking a more reasonable and equitable utilisation of the river.
The deal was approved after Burundi later signed the agreement and joined the group in March 2011.
Newly-independent South Sudan has not yet signed the Cooperative Framework Agreement but it has also rejected the 1959 Nile water agreements between Sudan and Egypt.
Downstream countries of Egypt and Sudan have, however, dismissed the deal, saying the agreement is insignificant because it did not include all Nile basin countries.
Egypt has in the past warned against construction of further dams along the Blue or White Nile’s.
One year after the Cooperative Framework Agreement was signed; Ethiopia launched the construction of a massive $4.8 billion dam on the Blue Nile River raising protests from Sudan and Egypt that the dam – Africa’s biggest – would reduce the flow of the water to their territories.
Currently a tripartite committee, which is composed of six experts drawn from Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, and four more international experts are assessing the impacts of the project.
The team is expected to announce the final findings and conclusions in May 2013.
(ST)
dekibat April 22, 2013
May be we should send Isias to Sinai to get a medicine of his own from his boduin arab people. Isias must be very happy that Egyptian authority are working hand in hand with the boduin traffickers that’s why they ignore every plea from human rights to stop Eritrean torture on their soil. Ethiopia is fighting Egypt for the dignity of all Africans and specially the Nile basin states which Eritrea is one of them. We should be fighting alongside Ethiopia for many reasons. Ethiopia and Eritrea ,Christians and Muslims this is our own water need the water for irrigation, farm ,drink, even for commercial purpose. Arabs portray us on their tv and newspapers as Africans starved while they starved us of our water. The boduin uses our water in sinai for farm and drink even Egypt sell our water to Israel and export it to the world in bottled water while denying us to use it for survival .Ethiopia’s lake Tana(abay) can be the source of electricity to Eritrea and Ethiopia. Western people are always asked the question “you have lakes which flow 24hrs , 7 days throughout the year why is there starvation” Because they do not know that we are banned to use our own water.
Mohammed April 24, 2013
WE ERITEEANS WILL STAND BESIDE OUR ETHIOPIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS (WHO HAVE SHOWN THEIR Support and assistance in this critical time of need, while the bastard Arab Beduins, the traitor cheap Rashidas, and the moral less Egyptian authorities jointly sell our brothers and sisters organs)…we will fight any cheap enemy, along side our strategic allies!
belay nega April 23, 2013
“By the way the name Bela Naga It 100% fits with the guy personality. If you don´t know what means “Bela Nega,” in Tigrina it means በሊዑ፥ ወጊሁ ማለት ክኸውን አንከሎ፣ ብኣምሃርኛ ክኣ፥ በላ ነጋ ማለት እዩ ትርጉሙ።”
KESHI HATIAT, ARE REFERING YOUR MEANS OF SURVIVING[MEBLI MEGDEF]BIBLE?
Zemichael June 13, 2013
Here again to try fishing in the troubled waters. Eritrea is great but Esayas is small, not visible in the regional politics. He can not bring anything by supporting or not supporting anything. It is well said that Abey Aleka tezeybelwos abzi alekhu bele. It is th act of a mad person.
yoseph m. February 6, 2014
Hey esayas afeworki? Do u know Ethiopia means eritrea? Just keep supporting ginbot 7!