Egypt President El Sisi seeks US help to end Nile dam dispute with Ethiopia

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has asked to US to help persuade Ethiopia to enter a legally binding agreement on the operation of its hydroelectric dam on the Nile.

Persecondnews.com reports that the Egyptian government sees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam as a threat to its vital share of the Nile’s water.

Mr El Sisi made his request to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when they met on the sidelines of a US-Africa summit in Washington on Wednesday.

“This is a very vital and existential matter to us. And we thank the US for its support and its attention,” Mr El Sisi told Mr Blinken, who had earlier in the week met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

“Reaching a legally binding agreement can achieve something good in accordance with international standards and norms. We are not asking for anything other than that,” Mr El Sisi said.

Egypt relies on the Nile for almost all of its fresh water needs. It says a reduction in its share of the river’s water could destroy hundreds of thousands of jobs in the agricultural sector and disrupt food supplies to its 104 million people.

Egypt and Sudan, another downstream nation, say Ethiopia should enter a legally binding agreement on the operation and running of the Gerd and on mechanisms for dealing with persistent drought.

The construction of the $4.2bn dam is nearly completed. It is built on the Blue Nile, the river’s main tributary that accounts for more than 85 per cent of the water reaching Egypt.

Ethiopia says the Gerd is a cornerstone of its development and plans to lift millions of its people out of poverty.