Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati announced in a communique that he received an official letter from his Ethiopian counterpart in which he indicated Addis Ababa’s decision to begin the second stage of filling the GERD.

Abdel-Ati responded with another letter to inform ‘Egypt’s categorical rejection to this unilateral measure.’

Ethiopia upholds it has all the rights to make use of the river waters for its development, and the dam project has been buildt according to international convention standards not to affect countries down the river.

Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have been involved in talks to resolve the disputed dam issue, without reaching an agreement. Addis Abeba has said it would move ahead with the completion of the dam it began building 10 years ago.

The official estimated that the exploitation of water resources is regulated by agreements and conventions that oblige Ethiopia to respect the rights and interests of this nation.

For Cairo, the unilateral filling of the GERD threatens its quota of Nile water, from which human consumption, agriculture and industry of the country, with more than 100 million inhabitants, depend almost entirely.

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