CAIRO — Egypt is following a new policy course on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in latest bid to get Ethiopia to agree to sign a legally binding deal on the dam. Cairo is approaching Ethiopia's closest allies, starting with China.
During a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in the northwestern coastal city of Alamein on July 18, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said, "Egypt is unwavering in its determination to protect its historical right to its water share from the Nile."
Ethiopia's second-stage filling of the dam's reservoir is close to completion.
Egypt, which took the dam issue to the United Nations Security Council on July 8, objected to the second-stage filling of the dam and accused Ethiopia of acting unilaterally and overlooking Egyptian concerns about the effects the disruption in the flow of the Nile would have on its people.
There is deep concern in Cairo that the filling and the operation of the Ethiopian dam will deprive water-poor Egypt of a significant part of its annual share from the Nile, its primary source of water.
Political observers in Egypt say that China could play an important role in settling the crisis over the Ethiopian dam.
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