Egyp's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Head of the Arab parliament Mishaal Al-Salami in one of the Arab Parliament sessions on Thursday (Photo courtesy of Foreign Ministry)
The Arab Parliament (AP) voiced on Thursday its full support for the legitimate demands of Egypt and Sudan to maintain their water security, legal and historic rights and shares of the River Nile water.
In a resolution issued at the conclusion of the first session of the second legislative term, the parliament stressed that Egypt and Sudan’s water security is part and parcel of the Arab National security.
The AP rejected affecting the two countries’ historic rights on the Nile water, reiterating that the agreements signed between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on the Renaissance Dam should be implemented.
The parliament asserted its full support for all measures taken by Egypt to reach a fair agreement on the dam in the manner that ensures the interests of all parties.
Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan received an invitation, from the US for a meeting on 6 November to break the stalemate on the GERD.
Tensions have been building up between Egypt and Ethiopia in recent weeks after talks on the technical details governing the operation of the mega-dam Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile failed to make progress.
Egypt fears that the Ethiopian dam will diminish its water supply, which is dependent on the Nile, and is pushing for the dam's reservoir to be filled over seven years, while Addis Ababa insists on a three-year filling time.
Ethiopia maintains that the dam, which is nearly 70 percent complete, will not restrict the river’s flow.
Last week on the sideline of Russia-Africa Summit held in Russia, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed decided that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam's (GERD) independent technical committee should immediately resume its work in a more open and positive way.
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