Morsi calls for national dialogue to discuss Ethiopia's dam on Nile

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday called for holding a national dialogue session to discuss a report by the tripartite technical committee on Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam, which is expected to be built on the River Nile. Morsi called on all political parties and groups to hold a national dialogue meeting to study the report of the committee, said a statement released by Egypt's presidency. According to the statement, the decision came after Morsi's meeting with the Egyptian team, who partook in the meeting of the tripartite committee that includes three countries, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, along with international experts. The committee's report recommended more studies for the economic and social impacts of the dam, as well as its effects on security, water resources and environment, the statement added. "The studies weren't enough compared to the volume of the project," added the statement. Morsi decided to refer the report to the government and assigned it to make detailed studies over the issue with the Sudanese and Ethiopian sides to reach specific steps that guarantee the nonstop flow of the Nile River. The committee is tasked with studying the dam and its effects on water shares of Nile Basin countries, mainly Egypt and Sudan. On Tuesday, Ethiopia started diversion of the course of the Blue Nile, one of the River Nile's two basic tributaries, as a preparatory step for building its aspired Grand Renaissance Dam. The move raised concerns in Egypt over its share of river water as one of the two downstream Nile Basin countries.