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Egypt fears that plans to fill the Grand Renaissance Dam will allow Ethiopia to control the flow of Africa’s longest river
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On completion of the dam, which Ethiopia is building, it will serve as Africa’s biggest hydroelectric power plant
In a stern warning to Ethiopia, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Thursday equated water with national security and said that it is a ‘red line’ that can never be crossed.
Egypt fears that plans to fill the Grand Renaissance Dam will allow Ethiopia to control the flow of Africa’s longest river.
When complete, the dam, which Ethiopia is building, will serve as Africa’s biggest hydroelectric power plant.
Sisi explained that Egypt was willing to help all African countries, including Sudan and Ethiopia, but not at the expense of Egypt’s water supplies.
“We will send expertise and agricultural production for all our brothers in Africa. We only want to safeguard our water share” Sisi said.
Sisi also warned that Egypt had “varied options” to protect its national security. “Before anything happens to Egypt, it would mean that I and the Egyptian military do not exist,” he said.
Sisi called on Ethiopia and Sudan to have “a legally binding agreement” in order to live in “peace and prosperity.”