2023-07-14 08:03:00
In a statement to the Middle East News Agency, today, Friday, Ambassador Hegazy expressed his aspiration, following this agreement, to unleash the energies of the river to serve its people and lift the current state of tension due to the Ethiopian position refusing to reach a binding legal agreement, which threatened the interests of Egypt and Sudan and increased tension in relations. .
The former assistant foreign minister considered that what was included in the final statement of the two sides’ talks, as well as Abiy Ahmed’s statement regarding taking into account Egypt and Sudan’s water concerns in the fourth filling that will take place this year, carried an Ethiopian message to overcome the current stalemate related to the Renaissance Dam negotiations.
He mentioned that Egypt has confirmed, through the long years of negotiations, its commitment to respecting Ethiopia’s right to development, while stressing at the same time the need to respect the historical and acquired rights of Egypt and Sudan, and that development cannot be achieved in a stable and stable manner in Ethiopia while the two downstream countries suffer damages because of that.
He continued in this regard that development is a right for all, but the damage will affect everyone, including the river itself, which must be developed in an integrated manner as a geographical and environmental unit that does not accept its fragmentation between plans and dams that serve one party at the expense of the other.
He warned that causing damage to the two downstream countries will not achieve the development goals of Ethiopia, but will only increase when accepting the rules of international law governing the management of international rivers, which achieves unity of security, stability and joint management of the water resource and all the dams located on it within the framework of a system supervised by a regional administration that builds its integrated works and projects on the basis of the river. One and interconnected dams working in an integrated engineering system for the benefit of the group of riparian countries on the river.
He stressed that Egypt always strives for the good of all, serving the peoples of the Nile River basin countries and preserving their interests. It also plays a role in achieving development goals and contributing to major development projects, as is the case in the “Julius Nyerere” dam in Tanzania, which was completed by Egyptian companies to the fullest with a budget. About 3 billion dollars.
Ambassador Hegazy believed that reaching a binding legal agreement would have a great return on the three countries, as it would also contribute to achieving the hoped-for consensus on the framework agreement and the Nile Basin initiative and launching an authority that manages relations between the river countries in a way that guarantees and secures development for all.
And he warned that the next stage is very dangerous and sensitive, and that giving a time limit of four months to reach an agreement is an important matter, given that the three countries have discussed this file for regarding ten years in all its aspects, and there is no longer time for procrastination, imposing wills, or buying time.
He said that if Ethiopia seeks through those negotiations to reach an agreement, then the elements of this agreement were previously agreed upon in the Washington talks in October 2021, following six months of technical discussions under American auspices and neutrality from international parties and institutions that participated in the negotiations, and most of the terms of the agreement were drafted, saying “Ethiopia knows that what is required is possible and will unleash tremendous partnership and opportunities for development.”
The former assistant foreign minister stressed: “We are facing a historical moment in which it is not permissible to gain time or try to impose a fait accompli or pass the fourth filling and achieve immediate and narrow interests, with the necessity of benefiting from this friendly negotiating climate.
Ambassador Mohamed Hegazy concluded that working with one hand and avoiding individual action and unilateral measures alone can achieve security and stability, benefit from the water capabilities of the Nile River, unify countries and meet the interests of their peoples, and launch the largest regional development project in which the water resources of the Nile are one side, while it extends to electrical, land and river interconnection. Railways along the two tributaries of the river and coordination between the dams established, which preserves the security and stability of the region and opens closed doors following unilateral efforts that imposed themselves to achieve development for one party and not the other, noting that development will only be achieved with creative cooperation and a broader vision of interests and the realization that the Nile water is linked to the essence of life and is A gift from God to all the peoples of the river and for the welfare of all.
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