NAIROBI: Ethiopia announced on Sunday it has filled its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile, the source of a long-running water dispute with downstream Egypt and Sudan. Egypt and Sudan fear the massive $4.2-billion dam will severely reduce the share of Nile water they receive and have repeatedly asked Addis Ababa to stop filling it until they have all reached agreement on how it should work. “It is with great pleasure that I announce the successful completion of the fourth and final filling of the Renaissance Dam,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmad said on X, formerly Twitter. Egypt’s foreign ministry condemned as “illegal” the news that Ethiopia had filled its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile. Egypt, which is already suffering from severe water scarcity, sees the dam as an existential threat because it relies on the Nile for 97 per cent of its water needs.

Source: Ethiopian News September 11, 2023 14:12 UTC