Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa water, Sanitation May-June2015 Vol. 10 No.3 | Page 24

Nile Treaties

Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan sign deal to end Nile dispute
brothers living on the banks of that very Nile in Egypt, and
who approximately equal them in numbers, it represents a
source of concern and worry,” he said.
“This is because the Nile is their only source of water, in fact
their source of life.”
Ethiopia wants to replace a 1929 treaty written by Britain
that awarded Egypt veto power over any project involving
the Nile by upstream countries.
Ethiopia says the $4.7bn (£3.1bn) dam will eventually
provide 6,000 megawatts of power.
Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi (left) signed the deal, despite
expressing reservations

T

hree African leaders have signed an initial deal to end
a long-running dispute over the sharing of Nile waters
and the building of Africa’s biggest hydroelectric dam, in
Ethiopia.
The leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed the
agreement in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum.
Egypt has opposed the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam,
saying it would worsen its water shortages.
Ethiopia says the dam will give it a fairer share of Nile
waters.
In 2013, Ethiopia’s parliament ratified a controversial treaty
to replace colonial-era agreements that gave Egypt and
Sudan the biggest share of the Nile’s water.
Egypt’s then-President Mohamed Morsi said he did not
want war but he would not allow Egypt’s water supply to be
endangered by the dam.
Ethiopia has the support of many African states for building
the dam
Mr Morsi’s successor, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi signed the deal
with Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Halemariam Desalegn and
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir.
‘Veto power’
The three leaders welcomed the “declaration of principles”
agreement in speeches in Khartoum’s Republican Palace,
and watched a short film about the Grand Renaissance
Dam that highlighted how it could benefit the region, the
Associated Press news agency reports.
Mr Halemariam said he wanted to give an assurance that the
dam would “not cause any harm to downstream countries”,
Reuters news agency reports.
Mr Sisi said the project remained a source of concern to
Egypt.
“The Renaissance Dam project represents a source of