President Abdel Fattah El Sisi assured Egyptians the country would eventually secure the results it has been seeking from years of negotiations with Ethiopia and Sudan over the operation of the massive hydroelectric dam Addis Ababa is building on the Nile.
On a talk show broadcast by the MBC Masr channel on Saturday, Mr El Sisi said Egyptians should not worry about the impact of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on their country’s share of the Nile waters, as long as they stayed “united and steadfast”.
Egypt is also undertaking multibillion-dollar projects to maximise the use of available water through recycling, reduction of waste and by building desalination plants, he said.
Mr El Sisi has said maintaining the country’s share of Nile waters, which supply more than 90 per cent of its needs, was an existential issue for Egypt and that Cairo would never accept a de facto situation imposed on it. But his latest comments appeared reconciliatory.
"We are fighting in the negotiations so we can secure and protect Egypt's rights, but I will not say whether things are moving along or not," he told Amr Adeeb, host of the popular talk show El Hekayah.
“For sure, we will reach the results through negotiations and patience ... as well as our steadfastness as Egyptians. We should not be worried.”
Negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the dam began a decade ago. Ethiopia refuses to enter a legally binding deal that includes mechanisms for dealing with future droughts or disputes over the dam’s operation.
On completion, it will be Africa’s largest dam and produce 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough to enable Addis Ababa to export the surplus.
The dam is built on the Blue Nile, the Nile’s main tributary. It flows into Sudan and meets the White Nile in Khartoum, from where the river travels north to the Mediterranean through the Sudanese and Egyptian deserts.
Mr El Sisi spoke about the dam earlier on Saturday during an online African Union summit in which South Africa handed the bloc’s rotating chairmanship to Democratic Republic of Congo.
He told DRC President Felix Tshisekedi that Cairo was confident that, under his chairmanship, Egypt would reach a binding agreement on the dam before Addis Ababa goes ahead with the second filing of the dam reservoir this summer.
Egypt and Sudan were angered when Ethiopia went ahead with the first filling last year without giving them prior notice. Ethiopia said it did not have to give advance warning because it was a matter of national sovereignty.
Addressing the AU summit later, Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said the dam posed a threat to 20 million Sudanese people, roughly half the country’s population. Mr Hamdok’s government has repeatedly said it wants Ethiopia to share data on the operation of the dam to prevent flooding and protect its own power-generating dams on the Blue Nile.
“Sudan wants a solution that safeguards the rights of everyone and that is within the boundaries of international law,” said Mr Hamdok, a former UN economist who took office in 2019.
His water minister, Yasser Abbas, told Reuters on Saturday that Sudan wanted the US, the EU and the AU to mediate in the dispute.
He said a second unilateral filling of the dam's reservoir would pose a threat to Sudan’s national security. He did not say how Sudan would respond if Ethiopia went ahead anyway.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder MHEV
Power: 360bhp
Torque: 500Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh282,870
On sale: now
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Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
losses caused by rogue trader Nick Lesson.
Leeson gambled more than $1 billion in speculative trades,
wiping out the venerable merchant bank’s cash reserves.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
EXPATS
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Results
2-15pm: Commercial Bank Of Dubai – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Al Habash, Patrick Cosgrave (jockey), Bhupat Seemar (trainer)
2.45pm: Al Shafar Investment – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Day Approach, Ray Dawson, Ahmad bin Harmash
3.15pm: Dubai Real estate Centre – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Celtic Prince, Richard Mullen, Rashed Bouresly
3.45pm: Jebel Ali Sprint by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Khuzaam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Shadwell – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Tenbury Wells, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Jebel Ali Stakes by ARM Holding – Listed (TB) Dh500,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
5.15pm: Jebel Ali Racecourse – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Rougher, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
