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Egypt turns to China for water advice amid Nile dam crisis

Egypt is looking to China for expertise on water management as the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis continues to threaten its water supply.

MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images
In a picture taken on Sept. 14, 2011, Chinese environmental activist Wu Lihong checks the water quality in an irrigation channel outside a chemical factory beside a rice paddy and on the edge of Taihu Lake in Yixing in Jiangsu Province. — MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt is looking to benefit from China’s expertise in managing water resources amid concerns about its share of the Nile water amid the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis. The Egyptian Parliament called on state institutions to cooperate with China on projects aimed to develop and conserve water resources such as desalination plants and recycling wastewater for use in agriculture.

Egypt is working to create a plan to manage water consumption and resources for presentation after the second-stage filling of the dam if Ethiopia executes its plan. China's assistance in the water management plan is hoped to reassure the Egyptian street that Cairo will come out the other side of the crisis

Ahmed al-Awadi, undersecretary of Egypt's parliamentary Defense and National Security Committee, said in a May 18 press statement, “China has experience in projects for managing water resources and will share its experience with Egypt in light of the GERD crisis.”

Awadi stated that the Egyptian-Chinese cooperation is not hindered by the participation of Chinese companies in the GERD project. Two Chinese companies are working on completion the construction of the GERD power plant project in Ethiopia.

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