Met with Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mr. Matthew Parks, water expert in the US government, Mrs. Nicole Champagne - US Deputy Ambassador in Cairo, and representatives of the US Embassy.
During the meeting, Dr. Abdel-Aty reviewed the water situation in Egypt and the challenges facing the water sector, on top of which are the limited water resources, the population increase, and the negative effects of climate change, as Egypt's water needs reach about 114 billion cubic meters annually, with a deficit of about 54 billion cubic meters. cubic meters per year, and that gap is bridged through water reuse, and Egypt imports agricultural crops equivalent to about 34 billion cubic meters annually, pointing out that the ministry has implemented many major projects that aim to increase the capacity of the water system to deal with such challenges with a high degree of flexibility and efficiency. , and achieving many goals such as rationalizing water use, maximizing the yield of the water unit, improving the management of the water system, and adapting to climate changes such as projects to rehabilitate canals and watering cans and convert to modern irrigation and establish triple water treatment plants with a capacity of up to 15 million cubic meters per day, and establish approximately From 1,500 structures to protect against the dangers of floods, and to carry out protection works for beaches with lengths of up to 120 km, and work to protect other lengths of up to 110 km.
Dr. Abdel-Aty also reviewed the navigational corridor project between Lake Victoria and the Mediterranean Sea, which aims to transform the Nile River into a navigational artery linking the Nile Basin countries.
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Dr. Abdel-Aty indicated that this project is a vital regional project that brings together the countries of the basin, considering that river transport between countries is one of the best means capable of transporting trade movement of all kinds and sizes at low cost, lower energy consumption and higher safety rates compared to other means of transport, so that integration takes place. With other means of transportation, with an emphasis on the role of the project to support the movement of trade and tourism between the countries among themselves and with the countries of the world, and work to provide job opportunities, and increase the possibility of land-locked countries to communicate with the seas and global ports, as well as support economic development in the countries of the world and strengthen the position of the region in the economic system As well as supporting cooperation and integration between countries in all fields, which is reflected in the vision of the project, which is represented in “one continent – one river – a common future.”
For their part, the American expert and the US deputy ambassador expressed their interest in this project as one of the most promising regional projects that drive development and improve the economic and social conditions of all countries involved in the project.
Dr. Abdel-Aty reviewed the current position of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations, pointing to the great flexibility shown by Egypt during the various negotiation stages due to its desire to reach a fair and binding agreement regarding the filling and operation of the dam, pointing to the need for specific procedures to deal with various droughts in light of the adoption of Egypt is on the Nile River, and that Egypt made many attempts to build confidence during the negotiation stages, but this was not met with goodwill on the Ethiopian side, as Egypt had previously proposed establishing an infrastructure fund in the three countries (Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia) to open a field for cooperation, but it was not activated until Now, Egypt also put forward the idea of connecting the electricity networks of the three countries, but Ethiopia rejected this proposal as well, stressing that any water shortage will affect workers in the agricultural sector, which will cause social problems and security instability in the region and increase illegal immigration.
Dr. Abdel-Aty also indicated that the Ethiopian side is suggesting that it is compelled to fill it as a construction necessity and for the purpose of generating electricity, which is contrary to the truth, as evidenced by the Ethiopian side filling during the past year despite the dam’s turbines not being ready to generate electricity, as he has repeatedly The same scenario this year without generating electricity also so far, as the early generation turbines in the dam were not turned on, which raises many questions about Ethiopia’s insistence on filling the dam without generating electricity.
It was also pointed out that the Ethiopian side deliberately issued false statements and managed the dam unilaterally, which caused great damage to the two downstream countries, which cost huge sums estimated at billions of dollars in an attempt to mitigate the negative effects resulting from these unilateral measures that caused confusion in the river system, as well as The damage suffered by Sudan as a result of the unilateral filling in the past year was mentioned, which caused Sudan to suffer from a severe drought followed by a massive flood due to the Ethiopian side carrying out the first filling process without coordination with the two downstream countries, and then the Ethiopian side releasing quantities of loaded water With silt during November 2020 without informing the two downstream countries, which caused an increase in turbidity in the drinking water stations in Sudan.
A comparison was made between green water in Egypt and Ethiopia, and it was clarified that 94% of Ethiopia's land is green, while the percentage of green land in Egypt does not exceed 5%, and that Ethiopia owns more than 100 million heads of livestock that consume 84 billion meters cubic meters of water per year, which is equal to the share of Egypt and Sudan combined, and Ethiopia’s share of blue water (running water in the river) amounts to about 150 billion cubic meters annually, of which 55 billion is in Lake Tana, 10 billion is in the Takzi Dam, and 3 billion is in the Tana Pals Dam. 5 billion in the dams of Fincha and Shacharara and a group of small dams other than 74 billion in the Renaissance Dam, and the average amount of rain that falls on Ethiopia is about 900 billion cubic meters annually, and the per capita share of water in Ethiopia reaches 7,500 cubic meters annually, and Ethiopia does not depend on any resources water from outside its borders, while Egypt relies 97% on shared water from only one river, the Nile, and the per capita share of water in Egypt does not exceed 560 cubic meters annually, and at the same time the countries upstream of the Nile enjoy a large abundance of water as the amount of rain reaches The amount of water falling at the headwaters of the Nile amounts to (1600-2000) billion cubic meters annually, at a time when the amount of rain falling on Egypt does not exceed 1.30 billion cubic meters annually, and some of these countries also own rivers other than the Nile. For example, there are 12 rivers in Ethiopia, and the basin countries own tens of millions of acres that are irrigated by rain.
It was also emphasized that climate changes have become a reality that we witness in many extreme climatic phenomena that struck many countries of the world and caused huge losses, and that water scarcity and climate changes make the situation more difficult in water management in Egypt and make it highly sensitive to any unilateral measures. upstream countries.