Ethiopia Shows Its Firm Position of Equitable Use of Nile Waters in Washington Meeting: FM (November 8, 2019)

 Ethiopia has seized the meeting hosted by the United States on Wednesday to show its firm position of equitable use of the Nile water, said Gedu Andargachew, Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Ethiopian delegation, led by Gedu issued a press conference in Washington yesterday following the end of the meeting attended by the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the President of the World Bank Group.

During the meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Ethiopia had reflected its rights on fair usage of the waters of the Nile, said Gedu.

Ethiopia is building the dam not to harm others but to provide power to it 70 million people have no access to electricity and reduce poverty, he said.

Ethiopia attaches great importance to the trilateral technical discussions and is confident that any disagreements would be addressed by the consultations of technical committee, he said.

The meeting was beneficial to clear up confusions and reflect Ethiopia’s constructive position towards Africa’s largest hydroelectric dam once completed, he said.

President Trump also expressed his desire to join ribbon cutting ceremony when the dam is completed, according to the Ethiopian Foreign Minister.

During the meeting held in Washington, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have reached a consensus to continue the trilateral technical discussions on the dam.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is now more than 68% complete. Works on the two turbines that could begin producing electricity in 2020 is nearing completion.

Ethiopia envisaged finalizing GERD project in 2023.