‘No Nile, No Egypt,’ Cairo Warns Over Ethiopia Dam

Egypt’s foreign minister, vowing not to give up “a single drop of water from the Nile,” said on Sunday he would go to Addis Ababa to discuss a giant dam that Ethiopia has begun building in defiance of Cairo’s objections.

Two days after the Ethiopian government flatly rejected a request from Cairo to halt the project, Mohamed Kamel Amr said Egyptians view any obstacle to the river’s flow as a threat to national survival.

“No Nile, no Egypt,” he said, highlighting the pressure on the Egyptian government to prevent the hydro power plant cutting already stretched water supplies.

Speaking at a news conference, he declined to detail the action Egypt might take next but noted Ethiopian assurances that Africa’s biggest hydro station would not cut water supplies.

“We have a plan for action, which will start soon,” Amr said. “We’ll talk to Ethiopia and we’ll see what comes of it.

Countries that share the Nile have long argued over the use of its waters, repeatedly raising fears that the disputes could eventually boil over into war.

This article appeared in print on page 3 of the June 10th, 2013 edition of Hamodia.