Senior Egyptian source: We will not allow any party to control Nile water flows to downstream countries
Cairo, Aug 16 (KUNA) -- An Egyptian official source affirmed on Sunday that the recent statements attributed to Ethiopia’s Minister of Water and Energy regarding the construction of additional dams on the Nile River and “controlling” water flows to the downstream countries represent a deliberate continuation of Ethiopia’s unilateral approach, in blatant violation of international law.
The Egyptian Middle East News Agency quoted the source as saying that these statements reflect Addis Ababa’s persistent illusion that it can impose hegemony over a shared international river and subordinate it to the will of a single state. He stressed that Egypt will neither accept nor permit any party to control water flows to the downstream countries.
The source added that these statements once again undermine Ethiopia’s repeated claims that its actions aim at development without harming others. The explicit declaration of seeking to control the flows of an international river to downstream countries reveals a highly dangerous trend that does not primarily aim at achieving legitimate development, but rather reflects an attempt to impose facts on the ground.
He pointed out that this also reflects the monopolization of a shared international water resource and the use of geographic position to threaten the water rights and interests of the downstream countries, which is not recognized under international law, and Egypt will not allow it to be imposed as a fait accompli.
The source affirmed that the Nile River does not belong to any single state, and that illusions of controlling it or unilaterally managing its flows are in blatant contradiction with the established rules of international law governing shared international rivers, foremost among which are the principles of no significant harm, consultation, consensus, good-faith cooperation, and respect for the rights and interests of other basin states.
He emphasized that Egypt had previously declared in its addresses to the Security Council that it would take all measures permitted under international law to protect the rights and assets of its people in the Nile River, noting that Egypt’s state instruments are diverse, multifaceted, and capable of reaching and defending the Egyptian people’s interests in the Nile.
Ethiopia’s Minister of Water and Energy, Habtamu Itefa, had stated that the flow of Nile waters toward downstream countries would be under his country’s control, affirming that Addis Ababa intends to proceed with building additional dams on the Nile, which he described as “fair use of Nile waters and the achievement of sustainable development.” (End) A.S.M./N.S.A.
