Arab League weighs in on Nile dam dispute
Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary general of the Cairo-based League of Arab States, criticized the way the international community has dealt with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis.
CAIRO — Secretary General of the Cairo-based Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit recently criticized the way the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, has handled the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute pitting Egypt and Sudan against Ethiopia.
Speaking to Sada el-Balad TV June 12, Aboul Gheit said, “Ethiopia decided to strangle the downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan, and no one is countering it.”
He added, “It has been a year that we are seeing the Security Council with its unfortunate performance in the issue … and no one is talking about the right to transboundary waters.” He called for action by “those who want international law on international waters to be applied to everyone.”
Aboul Gheit’s remarks come as Addis Ababa is preparing for the third-stage filling of the dam’s reservoir, a move expected to heighten tensions with Cairo and Khartoum amid the stalled tripartite negotiations.
