Political leadership never neglects water file

The political leadership in Egypt has never turned a blind eye to Egypt's water rights and will never do, said a well-placed source on Tuesday.

Egypt is willing to use all alternatives and options to protect its historical water rights to the Nile River, the source told MENA.

Egypt will not give up one drop of its water quota, the source assured. "We won't allow one cubic meter of Egypt's quota to be stored outside [our] border," the source said.

He welcomed Ethiopia's invitation to Egypt and Sudan to visit the site of the renaissance dam and get firsthand information about the building process as part of trust-building measures.

But the source still urged Ethiopia to seriously and objectively reconsider Egypt's proposal to increase the number of dam holes to guarantee the continued flow of Nile water at constant rates throughout the year, especially in times of emergency, in order not to harm the water quotas of downstream countries.

The source also stressed Egypt's keenness on completing technical studies about the Ethiopian dam in line with the roadmap agreed during a meeting of the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia in August 2014, the source said.

Egypt is also keen on implementing articles of the document of principles signed by leaders of the three countries in March, the source added.

Source: MENA