Egypt's FM: His Ethiopia visit lifted tensions

Egypt's Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr said that the hostility between Egypt and Ethiopia was “eliminated” following his recent visit to Ethiopia. Amr, meanwhile, said that his visit has also succeeded in establishing a medium for constructive dialogue and means of cooperating for achieving the interest of both countries. The other target that has been achieved from the visit is the agreement on jointly implementing the recommendations of the tripartite committee’s technical report, he added in an interview with MBC Masr Channel. The Ethiopian side affirmed that it could not harm Egypt's interest, Amr said, adding that “Egypt is not against development in Ethiopia or in any country,” but emphasized that the Nile is “the only source of water for Egypt” and that protecting the country’s water resources was of paramount concern. Amr also pointed to the joint statement which was issued by him and his Ethiopian counterpart announcing that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will start negotiations on recommendations by the technical committee on the Ethiopian Nile dam project. Egypt and Ethiopia engaged in a sharp exchange of words after Ethiopia began diverting the Blue Nile in order to construct its $4.2 billion hydro-electric project, dubbed the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. For decades, Egypt held veto rights over all upstream projects, following powers granted by a 1929 colonial-era treaty with Britain. Egypt's subsequent 1959 deal with Sudan divided the Nile waters between the two countries, with Egypt taking 55.5 billion cubic meters of a total of 74 billion, after evaporation.