Report: US plans to freeze aid to Ethiopia amid Nile River dam dispute
Foreign Policy reported the proposal by the US State Department could affect up to $130 million in aid as negotiations with Egypt and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam continue.
The US State Department has approved a proposal to freeze foreign aid to Ethiopia amid the country’s dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Foreign Policy reported Thursday.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally approved the aid freeze and the State Department briefed congressional aides this week. Details are not finalized, but the move could affect up to $130 million in aid, according to Foreign Policy.
If the plan goes through, it would be a blow to Ethiopia’s position to fill and operate the dam without coming to agreement with its neighbors first.
Ethiopia built the dam to provide electricity to its population of more than 100 million. Leaders say the country has not been benefiting as it should from the Nile River and want to alleviate poverty in the east African country. The dam is located on the Blue Nile River, a main tributary of the Nile. However, Egypt and Sudan are concerned that filling the massive dam without safeguards in place could dangerously lower water levels in the Nile in their countries.
