“A matter of time before Ethiopia begins filling the dam”: Eng. Seleshi Bekele

The Ethiopian Herald

It would be only a matter of time before Ethiopia begins the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), said Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Eng. Seleshi Bekele yesterday, as he refuted the unfounded claim that Ethiopia agreed to delay the Dam’s filling until a deal is reached describing it “Egypt media’s obsession and fabrication”.
In a virtual dialogue organized by The Ethiopian Embassy in South Africa yesterday, where prominent Ethiopia experts discussed issues concerning GERD, Eng. Seleshi stated that nothing has changed on the Ethiopian side and that the country will stick to its dam filling per the schedule.
The fact that the three countries agreed to bring the matter into the African Union is a leap forward and the only agreement reached on South African-led dialogue among the three countries was to reach agreement in two weeks as Ethiopia continues its preparation to start the filling.
“You know that Egyptian media outlets like Al-Harm online are very much biased and engaged in twisting information in line with their obsession.”
What was decided on Friday was for the technical
committees to come up with a deal in two weeks and report the same to the leaders of the three countries.
Earlier in the day, the Office of the Prime Minister said in a statement that the June 26, 2020, virtual Extraordinary meeting of the Bureau of the African Union Assembly underscored that GERD is an African issue that needs an African solution.
An agreement also reached on the meeting, convened by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and African Union Commission Mousa Faki Mahamat, by the three countries to conclude the negotiation and try to seal a deal within the next two week.
Further, it says that Ethiopia is scheduled to begin filling the GERD within the next two weeks, during which the remaining construction work will continue.
It is in this period that the three countries have agreed to reach a final agreement on a few pending matters.
The meeting resolved to notify the United Nations Security Council that the African Union is seized of the matter while instructing the African Union and members of the Bureau to provide technical support for the negotiations and urged Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt to cease unnecessary media escalation, it says.

The Ethiopian Herald

BY DESTA GEBREHIWOT