Story thread · 3 reports / 2 sources

Egypt seeks greater share of Nile water amid rising tension with Ethiopia

thenationalnews.com · 3hShare

Egypt needs to double its share of Nile water, not just protect it, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said, as tension with Ethiopia rose on two fronts. Mr Abdelatty was speaking at a meeting late on Tuesday, chaired by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and attended by military commanders. “Egypt lies in the zone of water poverty,” he said. Mr El Sisi said Egypt was creating “space for diplomacy and peaceful solutions” on the Ethiopian dams. “But that will not be at the expense of Egypt's existence and its people,” he added. He also said the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam was built only because of the unrest Egypt went through from 2011 to 2013, and the “absence of the state” at the time. Egypt relies on the Nile for more than 98 per cent of its freshwater. Its annual share is 55.5 billion cubic metres. Egyptian Water Minister Hani Sewilam said this month that the country needs about 123 billion cubic metres. Mr Abdelatty said Egypt would not accept any new dams or a repeat of “what happen

First report: Hot weather returns to Egypt on Tuesday — egyptindependent.com, 1d