The former US ambassador to Ethiopia says a peaceful solution can be found regarding the controversial dam project on the Nile River in Ethiopia, which is disputed by Egypt.
Å“This can be resolved in a peaceful manner. To my knowledge, there has never been a war anywhere in the world that has been a result exclusively of a fight over water – not a major war. And I donâ„¢t think that this is going to become the first one,” David H. Shinn said in an interview with Press TV on Thursday.
Shinn called on Ethiopia and Egypt to Å“engage in more discussion, more dialogue, more transparency of information,” with the United States providing only a council role and not fit to Å“mediate this dispute”.
Last month, Ethiopia said it had begun diverting the flow of the Blue Nile for the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam – a $4.2-billion hydroelectric plant that sparked outrage in Egypt, with officials saying the dam will cause serious water shortage in the country.
Egyptian officials warned against a diminished share of the Nile River, while proposing a plan to sabotage or aid rebels against the Addis Ababa government.
Å“I think there has been an enormous amount of misinformation particularly in the last month or so that has led to the heightened rhetoric and emotion, particularly that coming out of Egypt,” Shinn said, adding that Å“these are issues that can be dealt with so long as they are hydro-power projects that allow the water eventually to flow again pretty much as it did before.”
A ten-man panel of experts has found that the dam will not significantly affect Egypt or Sudan.
Egypt faces a water crisis as its population increases. In the 1960s, the average water share per person was 2,800 cubic meters. Now, the figure has dropped to 600 cubic meters, much below the poverty line, which is 1,000 cubic meters per person.
The Nile, located in northeast Africa and the longest river in the world, supplies water to Egypt and Sudan. It is formed from two rivers: the Blue Nile and the White Nile. Egypt is dependent on the Blue Nile, which starts in Ethiopia.
GMA/HSN
Republished with permission from: Press TV