Morsi: Egypt not to let water security be threatened

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi reaffirmed Monday that Egypt is not calling for war over Ethiopia' s Renaissance Dam, but will not let its water security be threatened. Addressing the National Conference for Preserving Egypt's Rights in the Nile Water, Morsi said "the Egyptian civilization has been bred by the Nile water," reiterating "all options are open for not losing a drop of water and Egypt's water security can 't be violated at all." More than 11 parties have participated in the conference, along with members of the Shura Council (the upper house of the parliament) and prominent political figures, mostly Islamists. Morsi also asked all the political forces of Egypt to put aside difference and unite over the Nile issue which he saw as "a matter of national security," recalling for a comprehensive national dialogue. Asking for mutual respect among Nile Basin countries, the president asserted Egypt's keenness for the development of African countries, on conditions that their projects would not affect the legal rights of Egypt. "We want special and continuous relations with the African countries," he added. Meanwhile, Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Qandil on Monday underscored the Nile River's water supply as national security following Ethiopia's recent diversion of an upstream tributary in preparation for building a dam. During his speech at the Shura Council, Qandil said "about 98 percent of Egypt's use of water depends on the Nile River, which means that it is a matter of life or death." In late May, Ethiopia started diversion of the course of the Blue Nile, one of the Nile River's two tributaries, as a preparatory step for building its Renaissance Dam. The move raised concerns in Egypt over its share of Nile water as one of the two downstream Nile Basin countries.