Egypt is one of the most arid countries in the world and depends almost totally on the Nile waters.
Chairman of Nile Water Sector in the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation Ahmed Baha Al-din said Egypt’s dependence on the Nile puts the country in a critical situation especially with its population increasing.Mr Al-Din said Egypt has never been and will never be against the development of the Nile Basin countries as long as the development does not impact on Egypt’s water security.
Ethiopia’s representative Alemeyebu Teganu said the House of Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia unanimously ratified the Nile Basin Framework Agreement.
Egypt is in a dispute with Ethiopia over the Grand Renaissance Dam the latter is building in the Blue Nile.
Egypt sees the dam as a violation of the agreement signed during the colonial period giving Egypt and Sudan a say over water developments in the upper riparian states.
Ethiopia says the colonial arrangement is outdated.
Both diplomats were speaking at the twenty first Nile Council of Ministers meeting in Juba on Thursday.