The UN is urging Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan for Reuters to rush talks again

By Doyinsola Oladipo

(Reuters) – The United Nations called on Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on Tuesday to talk about the operation of a giant hydroelectric dam, urging them to avoid unilateral action, a day before Ethiopia began filling the dam reservoir.

The UN Security Council is likely to discuss a major rush in the Ethiopian Renaissance this week after Arab states called on the 15-member body to address the issue.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has backed the role of the African Union in mediating between countries, Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.

“It is also important that there is no unilateral action that would harm the search for solutions. So it is important that people re-commit to acting in good faith in the real process,” Dujarric said Tuesday.

Ethiopia has said that the Blue Nile Dam is key to its economic development and empowering the population.

Egypt believes the dam is a serious threat to the Nile’s water supply, as it is almost completely dependent. Sudan in another underlying country has expressed concern about the safety of the dam and its impact on its dams and water stations.

“Solutions to this need to be guided by example … for others who share watercourses, based on solutions found for those who share rivers, and this is based on the principle of fair and fair use and the duty not to cause significant harm,” Dujarric said.

Egypt’s irrigation minister announced on Monday that he had received an official warning from Ethiopia that he had begun filling the reservoir reservoir within a year. Egypt has said it has rejected the measure as a threat to regional stability.