Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan discuss Nile River dam at UN Security Council
Ethiopia said the Security Council is not an appropriate place to discuss the dispute, while Egypt said filling the dam threatens its "survival."
The UN Security Council heard remarks from Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan and other countries today on Ethiopia’s mega dam on the Nile River, officially known as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The countries maintained their firm positions in the hearing requested by Egypt, with Ethiopia saying the council should not be involved in the matter at all.
“This council should not be a forum for exerting diplomatic pressure,” Taye Atske Selassie, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, said during his remarks.
Ethiopia wants to fill the dam it built on the Blue Nile River — a tributary of the Nile. Addis Ababa believes doing so will alleviate poverty in the country. The upstream nations of Egypt and Sudan, however, believe filling the dam will endanger water levels in the river. The body of water is a major part of the East African economy.
