Egypt, Sudan will not accept Ethiopian unilateral actions on GERD: Water Minister

CAIRO – 16 July 2021: Egypt and Sudan will not accept unilateral decisions of filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam (GERD), said Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Aty during the inauguration of a Flood and Rain Forecasting Center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Friday.

 

Abdel-Aty reviewed the developments of the Nile water issue and issue of the GERD with DRC Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde , stressing Egypt’s keenness to resume the tripartite negotiations with Sudan and Ethiopia to reach a just and legally binding agreement for the three countries, according to a statement from the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

 

The Egyptian Water Minister, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Eve Bazaiba Masudi, and Egyptian Ambassador in Kinshasa Hamdy Shabaan inaugurated the Flood and Rain Forecasting Center on Friday.

 

The center would help the state of Democratic Congo study the effects of climate changes and to identify measures needed for protecting citizens from many potential risks, said Abdel-Aty, who is on a four-day visit to the DRC.

 

Last April, the devices and equipment of the forecasting center were transferred from Egypt to Kinshasa. Also, experts travel from Cairo to install the devices for the center, start trial operation, and train the Congolese responsible for operating and maintaining the center.