Page 37 - Vol 33 Issue 34 2021

Insight energy

pia goes in accordance to the plan of filling its In the meantime, Cairo’s establishments have to open its telecoms market, it is worth noting
dam. However, Egypt itself has asserted that the been urging Egypt and Sudan to ask the United here that the issue comes at a time when a
second filling will not have impact to the flow of Nations Security Council (UNSC) to insist that the Chinese-backed bid for a mobile license lose out
Nile waters. Sisi’s visit to Djibouti can be seen second filling of the GERD be postponed for a to a consortium that had US support and yet US
as major step in view of surrounding Ethiopia year, at least. According to this suggestion it will went on imposing restrictions against Ethiopia
using its immediate neighbours. Had Somalia “give the disputants time to resume negotiations.” relating to the crisis in the Tigray region.
been free from its current domestic wrangling, However, putting aside the cost Ethiopia could It is eminent that Cairo is excreting efforts
it would have likely drift into serving Cairo’s incur in delaying the completion of the project to make use of the odds Addis Ababa is faced
interest. In view of that Addis Ababa has to revisit it is in the belief of this writer that an extension with. The Egyptian leadership has a display
its approach to foes and friends of Mogadishu of time to the second filling will likely bear no of diplomatic gesture for “resolution through
based government. change in position of the downstream countries negotiation” while making “all options remain on
The summation of all this signifies the coming regarding the minor point of difference over the the table” statement. Although military option
of winter with much of a challenge for the negotiation table. has never been explicitly ruled out deluging into
region. As much rains hit the ground the more Ahead of the second filling of the dam, the any sort of armed conflict linked with the GERD
the filling of the dam’s reservoir gets easier month of June will be a busy one for Ethiopia as it could come with an unimaginable consequential
with ample flow of water and that eventually is scheduled to hold national elections in the face impact for the region that can also extend into the
dodges the unsubstantiated fears of water of domestic and international challenges. In the rest of the world. The pressure next year will be
security, while posing a new state of frostiness world where much of everything is about national no less than the present and it is time for Ethiopia
surrounding to downstream neighbours Egypt interest, Ethiopia cannot be naïve enough to to disprove that its purpose with GERD is not an
and Sudan desire of maintaining a status quo appear as a saintly state. In this regard Ethiopia’s existential threat but a means for cooperation.
on use of Nile waters. Nonetheless, the time appeal in the global alliance surfacing to UNSC (Courtesy of The Ethiopian Herald)
gives Ethiopia an opportunity to prove itself intervention might face some daunting road
and break the ground of power generation. ahead as Cairo pushes to pursue UNSC’s greater Kiram Tadesse is commentator on East African
Hence the rhetoric of undermining water role on the issue. affairs.
security in downstream countries and an issue Ethiopia was able to garner Chinese and
of existential threat for both nations should Russian support at the UNSC previous hearing
come to an end. over the matter. After Ethiopia’s recent decision

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