A deal signed between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan pledging cooperation to resolve differences over the Nile River water project is a trigger for future clashes, according to Foreign Policy Magazine.
The three countries signed an agreement a week ago on cooperation in the Nile River project, which observers said amounted to an official Egyptian recognition of Ethiopia’s problematic Grand Renaissance Dam.
Egypt and Sudan had feared that the US$5 billion power-generating dam would affect historical water shares agreed upon in an accord signed in 1959, while Ethiopia frequently reassures them the dam will have no negative impact on their countries.
“There is still plenty of scope for future problems,” the magazine said. “The accord only addresses the Grand Renaissance Dam, not water-sharing along the Nile basin.” The magazine also pointed out that concerns remain over the dam’s safety and possible ecological impact on southern Sudanese regions.
On a slightly more hopeful stance, however, Foreign Policy Magazine added, “After years of poisoning the atmosphere between Cairo and Addis Ababa, the controversial dam might yet be able to channel the two countries into a closer and more productive relationship, at least as far as security is concerned.”
