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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen has held talks with European Union (EU) Commissioner for Crisis Management Amabassador Janez Lenarčič on various issues.

The two sides have had discussions over the commendable efforts that the government has been undertaking so far and ways to mitigate observed challenges in delivering humanitarian support to affected people in the Tigray region.

Commissioner Lenarčič appreciated the improved access in the region that cut bureaucratic hurdles while he pointed out that the intensification of the campaign in the region made some rural areas inaccessible to humanitarian support.

Ambassador Lenarčič commended the agreement of EHRC and UN to jointly investigate alleged human rights violations in the region and appreciated the announcement of the withdrawal of Eritrean troops underscoring the need to expedite the process.

The Deputy Prime Minister, on his part, said commendable improvements have been registered so far in improving the lives of many people in Tigray although the government is still facing enormous challenges to tackle there.

The government is ready to mitigate the problems observed in the region and partners would register better results in this regard if they constructively engage in supporting the government’s genuine efforts than wasting time in throwing unnecessary criticisms, he said.

Regarding the visa extension request by partners, Mr. Demeke said the government is further consulting on the issue while the quest for access to communication equipment by humanitarian partners in the region will be handled by the guidelines that have been recently distributed regarding the matter.

Present at the meeting, Mitiku Kassa, Commissioner for the National Disaster Risk Management Commission of Ethiopia (NDRMC) said many of the humanitarian partners and aid agencies are still concentrated in Mekelle and have covered only 7% of the non-food items and 30% of food items supports delivered to address the needs of 4.5 million people in the region so far.

In this regard, the government is still the major player in serving the needs of affected people in the region, and the international community is expected to scale up humanitarian support.

He said six woredas that were not reachable for humanitarian supports have now become accessible with a military escort since the past 15 days expanding access to areas in the region.

Regarding IDPs, he said there are 169,000 of them under 12 centers and the government is ready to provide them voluntary, dignified, and safe return to their homes or place them under the protection of host communities and temporary shelters for the time being.

The EU Commissioner will meet AU officials later today.

Ethiopia called upon members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to urge Egypt and Sudan to return to the tripartite negotiations on the first filling and annual operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and respect the AU-led process.

In a letter addressed to the current President of the UNSC on 16 April 2021, Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen recalled the AU-led process has enjoyed the full support of the UN Security Council on the basis of the principles of complementarily and in the spirit of finding African solutions to African problems.

However, Egypt and Sudan are not negotiating in good faith and are not ready to make the necessary concessions to reach a win-win outcome, he said.

He further stated that the two countries chose to “scuttling” the negotiation and “internationalizing” the issue to exert undue pressure on Ethiopia.

The letter affirmed Ethiopia’s unwavering commitment and trust over the AU-led tripartite negotiation and expressed the country’s gratitude for the genuine efforts of South Africa and now the Democratic Republic Congo to address the matter in the spirit of African solutions for African problems.

The letter also recalled Ethiopia’s initiative on data exchange before the commencement of the second filling of the dam in the upcoming rainy season, which the two downstream countries declined.

The insistence by the two countries to maintain the unjust status quo and foreclose Ethiopia’s water use upstream of the GERD under the pretext of “concluding a binding comprehensive agreement” is unacceptable, said the letter.

The letter also underlined Ethiopia’s firm commitment to the Declaration of Principle (DoP) that was signed by the leaders of the three countries and noted that Egypt and Sudan are reneging their commitment that they have entered under the DoP.

In concluding, the letter declared that “Any attempt to pressure Ethiopia” and sideline the AU-led process will “further undermine trust and confidence among the three countries”.

The European Union (EU) has announced today new funding of €53.7 million in humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable people in Ethiopia, including those affected by law enforcement operation in Tigray regional state.

The funding announced today will be dedicated to addressing the acute needs of those affected by conflict and climate shocks, including populations in displacement and the communities hosting the displaced.

This comes on top of additional funding for Tigray last year, which brought the total EU funding for humanitarian partners in Ethiopia to over €63 million in 2020.

According to a statement issued by the EU, Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič, will arrive in Ethiopia tomorrow to meet Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reaffirmed that Ethiopia, in developing Abbay River for its needs, has no intention of causing harm to lower riparian countries.

The premier underscored that heavy rains last year enabled successful first filling of the GERD while the presence of the dam itself has undoubtedly prevented severe flooding in neighboring Sudan.

Ahead of the 2nd filling, Ethiopia is releasing more water from last year storage through newly completed outlets and sharing information, he said.

The next filling takes place only during heavy rainfall months of July/August, ensuring benefits in reducing floods in Sudan.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said that the second round filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will not have any impact on Egypt. Sameh Shoukry told Egyptian MPs that: “We imagine that the GERD will not cause damage to Egypt.”

“I say this from a purely technical point of view,” he stressed.

The Foreign Minister further said that a high Nile flood scenario this summer will help contain any possible problems.

Addressing MPs on GERD Egyptian Foreign Minister said Thursday that Egypt’s High Dam and its water reservoir will allow the country to absorb any impact of the second filling of GERD.

“A high Nile water flood will help us refill the Aswan Dam’s reservoir.”

Addis Ababa University Professor of Political Science and International Relations and researcher on Nile Water Prof. Yacob Arsano said that Ethiopia have been repeatedly telling that GERD will not have any impact on the downstream countries.

Recently, Ethiopia invited experts to make clear that GERD will not harm any downstream countries; however Egypt and Sudan rejected to assign delegates.

As to Prof. Yakob Arsano, Egypt and Sudan’s invitation to appoint experts before the second round Dam filling witnessed Ethiopia’s great diplomatic success.