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Sisi: Egypt-Ethiopia talks on Renaissance Dam to be held in Russia 

October 14, 2019 at 9:38 am

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi yesterday announced that he would meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali in Russia to discuss the Renaissance Dam and find a mutually agreeable way to end the deadlock in negotiations.

Al-Sisi said the situation Egypt witnessed after the events of 25 January 2011 – which saw a popular uprising oust long-time dictator Hosni Mubarak – caused Ethiopia to unilaterally decide to start building the Renaissance Dam.

He added that when he became president in 2014, he signed an agreement with Ethiopia and Sudan, which included key points on holding negotiations on how to fill and operate the dam. A consensus was not reached on the matters at the time, he added.

READ: Egypt denounces Ethiopia for moving ahead with Nile dam amid water-shortage fears

Egypt, he added, is building large desalination plants in an effort to produce one million cubic metres of clean water per day, to meet its population’s needs.

The country’s share of Nile water, estimated at 55 billion cubic metres annually, is inadequate to meet Egyptians’ needs, he added.

Ethiopia controls the gates of Nile and life of Egyptians, Egypt controls Gaza gates and life of Gazans – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]