Egypt opposes Ethiopia's unilateral dam action

CAIRO, Aug 3 (KUNA) -- Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohammad Abdelati said on Monday his country objects to Ethiopia's unilateral move of filling a controversial Nile dam.
The minister voiced the objection during the second meeting of the second round of African Union-facilitated negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on the latter's Nile River dam, the ministry of water resources said in a press release.
He added that the unilateral move of Ethiopia contradicts a previously agreed Declaration of Principles as reflecting Addis Ababa's reluctance to reach a fair agreement.
The Egyptian minister underlined that it is significant to find a detailed deal on the filling and operation of the dam, known as Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
He elaborated that this two-week round of negotiations only focuses on the filling and operating process, and that future projects would be considered later on.
Ethiopia had announced the completion of the first phase of filling the dam with 4.9 billion cubic meters.
With a capacity of 74 billion cubic meters, the Ethiopian dam is located on the Blue Nile, 15 kms from the Sudanese borders. (end) asm.mt