Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said that his country had continued discussions and consultations about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) file over the past years and has used its political and diplomatic tools to prevent potential evil.
Sisi’s comments came during his speech to media professionals and state leaderships following the graduation of a new batch of Police Academy students on Sunday.
Sisi added that over the past ten years, huge sums of money have been spent on improving and treating water throughout Egypt, stressing that these sums exceeded LE 400 billion.
He noted that the state has worked on implementing advanced triple treatment plants such as the Bahr el-Baqar, el-Mahsama and New Delta treatment plants, in addition to a plan for modern agriculture and a plan for advanced triple treatment.
Sisi stressed that the Egyptian state does not rely on one option in dealing with the issues it faces, but rather works on several axes.
The president stated that Ethiopia seeks to legitimize its unilateral policies that contradict international law and hide behind baseless allegations that these policies stem from the right of peoples to development.
The recent period witnessed tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa after the failure of negotiation methods over the Nile River waters due to Ethiopia’s GERD project.
Earlier in September, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdel-Aati addressed a letter to the President of the United Nations Security Council rejecting the recent statements of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed regarding the fifth phase of filling GERD.
The letter renewed Egypt’s categorical rejection of Ethiopian unilateral policies that violate the rules and principles of international law, and constitute a clear violation of the Declaration of Principles agreement and the Presidential Statement of the Security Council on September 15, 2021.
