Ethiopia does not have the “political will” to reach a deal on the operation of a massive Nile dam it is building and wants to act without heeding the interests of Egypt and fellow downstream nation Sudan, according to the Egyptian Irrigation Ministry.
A draft deal presented by Ethiopia during ongoing negotiations between the three countries is not legally or technically sound and does not ensure Egypt and Sudan's share of water during drought. It also grants Addis Ababa the right to change the rules governing the operation of the dam and the filling of its reservoir without prior consultations with Cairo and Khartoum, the ministry said.
“It is a clear attempt to impose a de facto situation on the two downstream nations because the Ethiopian position is founded on forcing Egypt and Sudan to either sign off on a document that takes them hostage to Ethiopia’s will or accept that Ethiopia takes unilateral actions like filling the reservoir without prior agreement from the downstream countries,” the ministry’s spokesman told reporters In Cairo on Saturday.
The latest talks on the long-running dispute began on June 9 and are being held just weeks before Ethiopia plans to start filling the dam’s reservoir. Sudan’s Irrigation Ministry said it was drafting a paper based on Egyptian and Ethiopian notes that would be presented when the negotiations resume on Monday.
Ethiopia’s Water and Energy ministry said the talks had achieved progress and would result in “finalising the process with a win-win outcome”. It provided no details.
Failure to reach an agreement is particularly worrisome as Addis Ababa has insisted it will start filling the dam next month regardless of the outcome, which would affect the amount of water reaching Sudan and Egypt.
The Egyptian Irrigation Ministry spokesman said Egypt had accepted a compromise “paper” submitted by Sudan as the basis for negotiations between the three nations. Ethiopia, however, countered with a proposal of its own on Thursday. The proposal was “worrisome” and “not legally or technically sound”, he said.
“The Ethiopian proposal was rejected by Egypt and Sudan. It reinforces the notion that Ethiopia lacks the political will to reach a fair deal on the dam and lays bare its intention to freely exploit transnational waters without regulations or care for the rights and interests of the downstream countries.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi has said his country will never accept a de facto situation when it comes to its share of the Nile waters, describing it as an existential issue. A former general, he has not publicly spoken of military action to protect Egypt’s water, saying only that he prefers a negotiated solution. But Egypt will be pushed into a corner if Ethiopia starts filling the reservoir as planned.
Fuelling tensions, a top Ethiopian military commander was quoted by official media over the weekend as saying Egypt should be aware of his country’s military capabilities.
“Egyptians and the rest of the world know too well how we conduct war whenever it comes,” said deputy army chief Gen Birhanu Jula.
Any military action by Egypt would face a set of challenges like that the two countries do not share a border and that it would likely prove difficult to justify it as a legitimate act of self defence under international law.
However, Sudan, which neighbours Ethiopia, has dramatically shifted its stand on the dam issue, from years of support for Addis Ababa to embracing Egypt’s concerns.
Moreover, Egypt’s military has in recent years acquired cutting-edge hardware that allows it to conduct operations well beyond its borders, such as German submarines, French jet fighters and high seas troop carriers equipped with Russian-made assault helicopters.
The most populous Arab nation with 100 million people, Egypt depends on the Nile for more than 90 per cent of its water needs. It has been trying to persuade Ethiopia to agree to a gradual filling of the dam’s 74 billion cubic metre reservoir to reduce the impact on its water share.
It also wants Ethiopia to commit to releasing sufficient water in the case of drought and allow for joint committees to run the dam. A significantly reduced share of water could cost Egypt hundreds of thousands of jobs and threaten its food security as its population rapidly grows.
Ethiopia, for its part, says the hydroelectric dam it began building in 2011 is key to its development and that it was acting within its sovereign rights to build the dam and decide how much of the Nile’s water is released to Sudan and Egypt. It has accused Egypt of clinging to colonial-era agreements that gave Cairo the lion’s share of the Nile water and ignored the needs of the 10 other Nile basin countries.
The dam, to produce 6,000 megawatts on completion, is being built on the Blue Nile, which originates on the Ethiopian highlands and thunders down into eastern Sudan where it converges with the White Nile near Khartoum before flowing north through the deserts of northern Sudan, into Egypt and all the way to the Mediterranean.
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
Profile
Company: Libra Project
Based: Masdar City, ADGM, London and Delaware
Launch year: 2017
Size: A team of 12 with six employed full-time
Sector: Renewable energy
Funding: $500,000 in Series A funding from family and friends in 2018. A Series B round looking to raise $1.5m is now live.
MATCH INFO
Red Star Belgrade v Tottenham Hotspur, midnight (Thursday), UAE
More on Quran memorisation:
On racial profiling at airports
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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SHAITTAN
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The specs
The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
Key fixtures from January 5-7
Watford v Bristol City
Liverpool v Everton
Brighton v Crystal Palace
Bournemouth v AFC Fylde or Wigan
Coventry v Stoke City
Nottingham Forest v Arsenal
Manchester United v Derby
Forest Green or Exeter v West Brom
Tottenham v AFC Wimbledon
Fleetwood or Hereford v Leicester City
Manchester City v Burnley
Shrewsbury v West Ham United
Wolves v Swansea City
Newcastle United v Luton Town
Fulham v Southampton
Norwich City v Chelsea
More coverage from the Future Forum
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
(All games 4-3pm kick UAE time) Bayern Munich v Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund v Bayer Leverkusen, Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Wolfsburg v Mainz , Eintracht Frankfurt v Freiburg, Union Berlin v RB Leipzig, Cologne v Schalke , Werder Bremen v Borussia Monchengladbach, Stuttgart v Arminia Bielefeld
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Sting & Shaggy
44/876
(Interscope)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Essentials
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Seattle from Dh6,755 return in economy and Dh24,775 in business class.
The cruise
UnCruise Adventures offers a variety of small-ship cruises in Alaska and around the world. A 14-day Alaska’s Inside Passage and San Juans Cruise from Seattle to Juneau or reverse costs from $4,695 (Dh17,246), including accommodation, food and most activities. Trips in 2019 start in April and run until September.
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
