US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed Washington’s readiness for diplomatic engagement to help reach an agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Miller added, in exclusive statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm from Washington, DC, that the US is committed to help all parties – including Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia- discuss how to manage, use and access water in a way that can contribute to enhancing security and stability in the Horn of Africa.
The US is ready to participate diplomatically to support all efforts to reach an agreement on the GERD that advances the interests of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, he added.
American diplomat and former US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Tibor Nagy, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the US strongly desires to resolve the GERD dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia.
“Egypt is a very important partner for the United States in the Middle East, while the importance of Ethiopia as an anchor for the Horn of Africa increases year after year, and Washington wants to solve this problem between the two countries”, he explained.
Nagy, who previously served as Washington’s ambassador to Addis Ababa, explained that the Biden administration is interested in Africa, but it can only give it limited attention while the world is on fire everywhere.
Egypt announced in December the end of the fourth and final round of GERD negotiations between it, Sudan, and Ethiopia, without making any progress, and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation announced “Cairo’s right to defend its water and national security in the event it is exposed to harm.”
In February 2020, Ethiopia officially began producing electrical energy from the Dam, coinciding with the fourth filling since then, amid condemnation by Egypt and Sudan due to Ethiopia’s unilateral measures on the Nile River.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
