Ethiopia diverts the Nile for Dh17bn dam, alarming countries downstream

[Frogman]

thank you
there is no doubt that me and frogman and all Egyptians wish our country the best every one has his opinion who sometimes think this would serve Egypt better my opinion is we should solve this problem without war if we could we are sharing the nile river there is no way this could be solved by war

It seems you have misunderstood what I'm saying. I'm not advocating military action at all I'm just saying that if the EAF was to conduct a military strike it could do so easily. The proper course should be getting diplomatically stuck in and if need be support Ethiopia and other Nile basin nations in building these dams while at the same time assuring our fair share of the water.

 

[Ceylal]

Egypt should declare war on Ethiopia.

Would be a great way to rally the people and finally put those monkeys in their place for the atrocities they committed in Somalia. Would also be a great time for Somalian groups to take revenge resulting in a three pronged war since Eritrea is sure to get involved leading to the swift collapse of Ethiopia.

War for what? for water, there is plenty for all them...
To take revenge on dead Somalian? they were sent by AU on peace mission under a AU mandate.
Eritrea was trounced once more and peace was signed and it is holding...And I doubt that the Eritrean will fight for their actual leadership.
And Egypt, does not have the logistical capability to conduct a war far from its land, nor will be allowed to.

 

[Frogman]

@Ceylal

1. If there was as you say enough water for every nation then we would not have this crisis.

2. This has nothing to do with Somalia whatsoever. Why that gentleman mentioned it is beyond me.

3. Egypt does have the logistical capabilities for an air mission but not full scale war. Getting involved in a ground war would be incredibly ill advised anyway. Ethiopia would also be unable to retaliate militarily given its limited strength.

 

[Ceylal]

@Frogman,
The British treaty gave Egypt and Sudan, the lion share of the Nile water and the rest to the reminder , which is 10 countries., that share a little of 10% of the water. Egypt might feel its effect in the beginning, but not too long. It is not worth any war...If you listened to last night debate of your parliament that was broacasted all over the world, is another reason to avoid war at any cost.

 

[Frogman]

@Ceylal

We don't have a true parliament yet and the current government is utterly incompetent. Egypt will be adversely affected though if the dam is completed and the Ethiopians decide to hold water in it. Egypt already recycles a lot of its water share and that has lead to numerous problems as well. If we are to get past this problem we must invest in other methods of gaining water, however, I wouldn't expect the current government to do anything except whine and produce a lot of air.

 

[Al Bhatti]

Jun 18, 2013

Ethiopia and Egypt remain on edge over Nile dam

The foreign ministers of Egypt and Ethiopia cancelled a press conference yesterday after meeting in Ethiopia's capital, raising doubts that tensions over a dam Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile River will subside soon.

Egypt and Ethiopia began a sharp exchange of words after Ethiopia last month started to divert Nile waters as part of the construction of its massive Dh15.4 billion hydroelectric project dubbed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Egypt fears the dam will mean a lesser share of the Nile, which provides almost all of its water needs.

The foreign minister of Egypt, Mohamed Amr, arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday, and yesterday met his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom. In a possible sign that the talks are not going smoothly, the two ministers then cancelled a scheduled news conference.

"I cannot anticipate the outcome of the meeting, but our wish is that they would understand that the construction of the dam is not going to harm them in any way. We have always sought a win-win cooperation and relationship with Egypt," said Dina Mufti, a spokesman for the Ethiopian foreign ministry.

Relations between the nations have quickly grown tense. In a televised meeting on June 3, Egyptian politicians suggested attacks on Ethiopia to sabotage the dam.

A week later, Mohammed Morsi, the Egyptian president, warned that "all options are open" to challenge Ethiopia's Nile project.

In response, the Ethiopian prime minister, Hailemariam Desalegn, vowed "nothing" and "no one" will stop the dam's construction.

Then, last Thursday, Ethiopia's parliament unanimously ratified a new accord that replaces colonial-era deals that awarded Egypt veto powers over Nile projects.

The tensions are causing international concern. The head of the African Union urged dialogue and cooperation and the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, telephoned both Mr Morsi and Mr Hailemariam.

Ethiopia downplays the prospect of military confrontation with Egypt. The president said Egypt would not attack unless its leaders "go mad". Ethiopia insists it "will not bow to pressure" by delaying the construction of the dam.

The dam, which would be Africa's largest hydroelectric producer, has been under construction for two years on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia's Benishangul-Gumuz region near Sudan.

Ethiopia and Egypt remain on edge over Nile dam - The National

 

[HAIDER]

whats ethiopia military strength . Because coming century will see lots of conventional wars for water

 

[kalu_miah]

GCC+ and Maghreb Union (Arab League) to become a part of African Union is the only long term solution to this Nile water problem.

 

[Battle of Kursk]

Egypt already recycles a lot of its water share

Not really, Egypt only recycles a small share of the water. This could be increased by hundreds if not thousands of %.
I agree with everything else you've said.

whats ethiopia military strength . Because coming century will see lots of conventional wars for water

Ethiopia has a much less modernized military than Egypt (and that's an understatement). However they do not share a border and the distances between Egypt's Military concentration centers (closer to Israel and Libya) are very far. The distances between the closest Egyptian soil to the heartland of Ethiopia is not small either.
The real question is can Egypt constantly and effectively project it's power over Ethiopia and the answer to this is too complicated to predict.
How far will Egypt go, will they be willing to bomb civilian infrastructure (bridges, power plants hydro plants etc...)? How will the world react if they will? how will African united force react (they don't have a reliable offensive ability in Egypt).
How much will Ethiopia be willing to take for getting more water? How's their resolve?
How willing are the leaders of both countries to work out a solution without open warfare, etc...
And that's without taking into account more ingenious solutions from either party.

 

[Tihamah]

it would be very stupid for Saudi Arabia to stick its nose in this business, Sudan is an enemy since 22 years ago when bashir stood by Saddam and now standing by iran against us.

Morsi is a snake, he is by passing iranian weapons to syria through Suez canal and making deals with iran behind our back.

Mubarak is gone, Mubarak was the only true friends Saudi Arabia had in egypt as president in the last 60 years, it would be extremely stupid that we get involved in a struggle that doesn't concern us siding with those who conspire to stabb us in the back!

it is Ethiopian water, they can do what ever they want with it, if Sudan got a problem let sudanese take care of it, or let Iran help them

same thing for Morsi, let him take care of the problem, or let his israeli and Iranian friends solve it for him.

it is just simply not our business.

 

[iajj]

i don't yet know what my position on this matter is. while i do think egypt must not be challenged as the master of the nile region, we can all see that in the future more and more countries will go to war for water, especially in south and southeast asia where china and some of its closest allies will be hugely affected. so right now i kinda itch for a war over water rights between egypt and ethiopia, which will be the first of its kind, so that the international community will be jolted into thinking about and creating the boundaries and diplomatico-military principles of all future water wars.

 

[Audio]

Egyptian water quotas are for White Nile, Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile. Law should be on their side.