Egypt and Sudan: The Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is "against international law" and threatens the stability of the region
Egypt and Sudan responded by issuing a joint statement on the statements of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed regarding the Renaissance Dam, confirming that the project is "against international law" and has "serious repercussions for the two downstream countries", as it represents a "continuous threat to the stability of the situation in the Eastern Nile Basin".
The response came hours after Abiy Ahmed announced his expectation that the dam would generate revenues of "one billion dollars annually", calling for cooperation from Egypt and Sudan.
The statement was issued following the "2+2 Consultative Mechanism" meeting of the foreign and irrigation ministers of the two countries, which was held on Wednesday at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting discussed the current developments in the Nile River file and followed up on the implementation of what was agreed upon in the first round of meetings held last February.
The two sides agreed, according to the statement, on the "necessity of securing the water security of the two downstream countries of the Nile River, and working together to preserve the full rights and uses of the two countries' water, in accordance with the legal regime governing the Nile River within the framework of the principle of a community of common interests and equality of rights, according to international law and the 1959 agreement concluded between the two countries".
The statement emphasized their "intention to coordinate and fully align their positions in various regional and international forums", stressing that "Sudanese and Egyptian water security is an indivisible part". The two countries "reaffirmed their complete rejection of any unilateral moves in the Eastern Nile Basin that could harm their water interests".
It is noteworthy that the Ethiopian Prime Minister had stated in an interview with official media on Monday: "I expect one billion dollars in revenues annually from the dam", explaining that "these revenues will be invested in other projects", and that Addis Ababa "relies on establishing similar projects to the Renaissance Dam over the next five, ten, or fifteen years".
The Renaissance Dam project was launched in 2011 with a budget of 4 billion dollars, and it is considered the largest hydropower project in Africa, with a width of 1.8 kilometers and a height of 145 meters. Ethiopia sees the dam, which has a storage capacity of 74 billion cubic meters of water, as "essential to meet its electricity needs" as it is capable of generating more than 5000 megawatts, which is equivalent to double the current production of the country.
