Egypt has requested the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to intervene in resolving the dispute over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River.
In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt had applied to the UNSC for GERD to intervene “to emphasise the importance for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to continue negotiations with good will’’.
The ministry added that, in order to find a fair and reasonable solution to the GERD problem, it has requested the council to force the three countries to adhere to their obligations in compliance with the rules of international law.
According to the argument, any unilateral action will damage the chances of reaching an agreement over the dam.
It added that this decision was taken by Egypt after the negative position Ethiopia took during the ten-year negotiations.
Egypt has reaffirmed its keen interest in reaching an agreement that meets the three countries’ interests, the ministry said.
It noted that it had sought intervention from the UNSC in order to avoid any tension and maintain international peace and security.
Since 9 June, in the presence of three observers from the United States , the European Union Commission and South Africa, the three countries have held regular video meetings to discuss issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD.
Tripartite talks on the rules for filling and running the grand hydropower dam in Ethiopia have been fruitless over the past few years, including those hosted by Washington, amid Egyptian fears that the GERD will impact Egypt ‘s annual share of Nile water.
Recently, Ethiopia has said it will soon begin to fill the reservoir, while Egypt has repeatedly warned against any unilateral action without prior tripartite agreement.
Ethiopia began building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt, a downstream Nile Basin country that relies on the river for its freshwater, is worried that its 55.5 billion cubic meter annual share of the river’s water supply could be affected.
