Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed is expected to reach Cairo, the capital of Egypt on Sunday after receiving an official invitation.
In a press statement on Saturday, the Ethiopian Embassy to Egypt said Ahmed during his visit is expected to meet with senior Egyptian officials including President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi to discuss issues of mutual interest.
The talks of the leaders will focus on Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which Ethiopia is building.
Ethiopian Prime Minister will also visit several places including Egyptian Parliament.
GERD, the hydro dam whose construction is currently 66 percent complete, is Africa’s largest hydro dam project, with Ethiopia saying the dam will reignite an economic renaissance in the region once it is commissioned.
Egypt, a lower riparian nation, fears the hydro dam will cut into its water supply, potentially crippling its agricultural sector that is already facing water shortages.
The two downstream states, Egypt and Sudan, and the upstream state, Ethiopia, are negotiating in an effort to avoid damaging Egypt’s share of the Nile water (55.5 billion cubic meters).
In September 2016, the three states, along with two French offices, carried out technical studies to determine the social, environmental and economic impacts of the construction of the Ethiopian dam.
Ethiopian Minister of Irrigation and Electricity Salehi Bekele arrived in Cairo, heading a delegation from Addis Ababa on a visit to Egypt for several days.
The three countries involved in GERD, Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia, increased their meetings before launching a new round of negotiations for their officials such as heads of intelligence and ministers of foreign affairs and irrigation scheduled for June 18 in Cairo.
Last month, Egypt announced the success of the meeting on GERD hosted by Ethiopia. The two countries, together with Sudan, agreed to form a new scientific research committee to support the level of understanding and cooperation, including discussing and developing several scenarios related to filling and operating rules for the dam, in accordance with the principle of fair and equitable use of shared water resources.
Egypt’s total water resources are estimated at 79 billion cubic meters of water obtained from the Nile, rain and groundwater, with actual consumption exceeding 110 billion cubic meters of water.
Halbeeg News and Agencies
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