Ethiopia Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew has expressed his country’s enthusiasm to strengthen bilateral relations with Egypt and a commitment to resume negotiations on the contentious, and massive, Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the River Nile.

At a Cairo meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi last week, Gedu delivered a message from Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed communicating Ethiopia’s resolve to resume tripartite talks on GERD – which are expected to focus on implementation of the declaration of principles regarding water fills and operation of the dam.

Al-Sisi on this part reportedly returned greetings to Abiy Ahmed and expressed “hope for promoting various aspects of bilateral partnership between both sides”. Egypt has historically been particularly critical of the dam’s construction, arguing that it will reduce its legitimate share of River Nile water access, and thus threaten its water security.

The exchange of goodwill comes soon after, and perhaps in spite of, reports in Arab and Israeli media that Israeli firms, in May this year, installed an advanced “Spyder-MR” air defense system for GERD on behalf of Ethiopia, in the face of objections from the highest levels of Egypt’s government. There has been no official comment on these reports from the governments involved.

Dr Danilo Turk, Chair of the Global High-Level Panel for Water and Peace (GHLPWP) speaks with David Duncan, Publisher, OOSKAnews in this (LINK) “Water Diplomacy Talks” audio interview.

 

The Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace was launched in 2015 with the task of developing a set of proposals aimed at strengthening the global framework to prevent and resolve water-related conflicts, facilitating the use of water as an important factor of building peace and enhancing the relevance of water issues in national and global policy making. In 2017 the Panel published its Report “A Matter of Survival”. In this “Water Diplomacy Talks” interview, Danilo Turk, who served as President of the Republic of Slovenia 2007-12, discusses current levels of international cooperation around the intersects of water, human conflict and peace; current and recent examples of water-related conflict; engagement by international institutions and mainstream media with water / peace challenges and opportunities; the United Nations International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development” (2018 -28).

“We are all Water Diplomats”

Turk urges coordinated “hydrodiplomacy” including a UN Water Conference next decade, which would be the organisation's first since 1977’s event in Mar Del Plata, Argentina.

Turk is a professor of international law and human rights expert who, prior to his Presidency of Slovenia, was the first Slovene ambassador to the United Nations, from 1992 to 2000, and UN Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs from 2000 to 2005.