Madbouly: Egypt Not to Give Up on Its Water Rights; Supports Development in Nile Basin States

Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly held a press conference, where he addressed different concerns, especially Egypt’s stance regarding the Ethiopia’s announcement of completing the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD).

“Egypt has announced its stance on the Ethiopian Renaissance from the beginning, which is that it is not against any development in the Nile Basin countries; however,

it welcomes it and help [the countries] to implement many developmental projects,” Madbouly said, adding “we will not be against any development in these countries as long as it does not negatively affect the Egyptian state and its rights in the Nile River.”

Madbouly went on saying that the River Nile "is almost the only source of water in a country known in the world as the driest country in terms of rainfall."

The Prime Minister also explained in the same context saying that "we have never objected any projects, but we believe that any project implemented in the Nile Basin countries must be in cooperation, coordination and agreement among the states," stressing that this is still Egypt's fixed stance regarding GERD.

"We have tried over the past years with our brothers in Sudan and Ethiopia to reach an agreement that regulates and guarantees that the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan) will not be negatively affected by the Ethiopian dam project, but unfortunately the Ethiopian side did not respond to us, and therefore Egypt announced at some point the suspension of negotiations and our submission to the Security Council, then we announced very clearly and we still announce that Egypt will be keen to protect its water rights by all possible means."

Prime Minister Madbouly also stated “we announced a few days ago an initiative to finance and support development projects in the Nile Basin countries specifically so that we can help them, but in a way that does not harm Egypt's water interests.”

He further stressed, “Egypt will not give up its water rights in the Nile waters, and will be able to protect these rights.”

In his remarks, PM Madbouly said that the 12th edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF12), which is being held in Cairo from 4-8 Nov. is considered “an opportunity to showcase Egypt's successful experience in the field of urban development.”

He further declined news of increase in prices of natural gas for homes as false news, saying that these are rumors that aim to destabilize the state and stir up public opinion.

Egypt's PM Madbouly also announced that the second phase of the presidential initiative "Haya Karima" kicked off in a number of projects, and that the state will announce the new program before the end of this month.

Madbouly further tackled the rise of Artificial intelligence in different sectors, saying that it has become a fact in our life, and that the state is moving forward in this field.

Egypt’s Prime Minister also highlighted the progress the country has accomplished in establishing new cities, saying that “Egypt has the most successful experience in the world in establishing new cities to accommodate the population increase.”