Ethiopia urged to avoid unilateral action on dam filling

Doha: The consultative meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers concluded in Doha yesterday affirming that the water security of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Republic of Sudan is an integral part of the Arab national security, expressing their rejection of any action or measure that affects their rights in the Nile waters.

The statement issued at the conclusion of the extraordinary session of the Arab Ministerial Council of the Arab League yesterday, indicated that the foreign ministers were briefed by Foreign Ministers of Egypt and Sudan on the latest developments on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the results of the recent rounds of negotiations held under the auspices of the African Union with the aim of reaching an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam.

The meeting also recalled the relevant decisions of the Council of the League of Arab States, the latest of which was the decision issued by the extraordinary session of the Council of the League at the ministerial level, which was held on June 23, 2020, as well as the decision issued by the 153rd regular session of the Council on March 4, 2020.

The Ministers expressed appreciation for the efforts made by the Republic of South Africa and His Excellency President Felix Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, current Chair of the African Union on this regard.

The Ministers urged the parties to the importance of negotiating in good faith in order to reach a fair, balanced and legally binding agreement on the Renaissance Dam that achieves the common interests of the three countries and preserves the water rights of Egypt and Sudan. 

The ministerial meeting also expressed deep concern about Ethiopia’s announcement of its intention to continue filling the dam reservoir during the upcoming flood season in this summer of 2021, considering this a unilateral measure that violates the applicable rules of international law, especially the Declaration of Principles Agreement concluded between the three countries in Khartoum on 23 March 2015. 

This will cause harm to the water interests of Egypt and Sudan, especially the water facilities in Sudan, the most important of which is the Roseires Dam, said the statement. 

The statement called on Ethiopia to refrain from taking any unilateral measures that harm the water interests of Egypt and Sudan, including refraining from filling the Renaissance Dam reservoir without reaching an agreement on the rules for filling and operating the dam. 

The extraordinary session, took note of the letters addressed by Egypt and Sudan to the United Nations Security Council.

The ministers called on the Security Council to assume its responsibilities in the issue of the Renaissance Dam by holding an urgent session to consult on it and take the necessary measures to launch an effective negotiating process that guarantees reaching, within a specific time frame, a fair, balanced and legally binding agreement on the Renaissance Dam that takes into account the interests of the three countries. 

The meeting was the first following the agreement reached by the Ministers in February on the importance of intensifying their consultative meetings.

A statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting noted that the Ministers discussed the developments of the Palestinian issue, and were briefed by the Palestinian Foreign Ministers in this regard. 

There were interventions by most of the heads of delegations on these developments, especially in light of the formation of the new Israeli government, which unfortunately was observed to have started its work with extremely negative statements about peace, the Palestinians and the chances of a settlement.

The statement voiced absolute condemnation and denunciation of those statements, and condemned the Israeli insistence on conducting a march in the occupied East Jerusalem, considering that it constitutes a provocation to the Palestinians and may return the situation back to the state of burning crisis.

The statement added that the meeting also touched on the developments of the Iranian nuclear file negotiations, and the Iranian behavior in the region, as well as the Arab dealing with the crisis in Syria and ways of maximizing the Arab role in this regard. The meeting witnessed important opinions and points of view on these topics.

The meeting also included statements by the Foreign Ministers of Yemen, Libya, Lebanon and Sudan about the situation in their countries.

In another statement issued by the Arab League Council at the Ministerial Level in its extraordinary session, the Council congratulated the United Arab Emirates on obtaining the non-permanent membership in the Security Council for the period 2022-2023.

The statement also thanked the Republic of Tunisia for its efforts in defending the Arab issues and promoting the cooperation between the Arab League and the United Nations during its membership in the Security Council for the period 2020-2021.