The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan met Wednesday in Washington with President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to discuss the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD).
In a joint statement issued after the meeting, the ministers – Gedu Andargachew of Ethiopia, Sameh Hassan Shoukry of Egypt and Asma Mohamed Abdalla of Sudan – noted the significance of the Nile to the development of the people of their countries, and “reaffirmed their joint commitment to reach a comprehensive, cooperative, adaptive, sustainable, and mutually beneficial agreement on the filling and operation” of the GERD.
The massive hydropower dam project has been the focus of an escalating feud between Addis Ababa and Cairo over water resources.
The unannounced meeting was not on Trump’s public schedule.
“The meeting went well and discussions will continue during the day!” the president tweeted on Wednesday.
The meeting, spearheaded by Mnuchin and also attended by World Bank Group President David Malpass, came about after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi requested that Trump mediate the conflict over the dam.
All three countries are vitally important to U.S. interests, and the Trump administration’s efforts to facilitate the negotiations over the dam are not at all surprising, said Bronwyn Bruton, director of programs and studies at the Africa Center of the Atlantic Council.
“Any armed or proxy conflict between these nations over the GERD would have a profoundly destabilizing effect on a region that is already facing ethnic unrest, political transition and a rising threat from jihadi extremist groups,” Bruton said.
Observers of international transboundary water conflicts say an ideal outcome would be a commitment by the countries to work together to get to an agreed-upon solution.
“If countries come out of this meeting with an agreement on a process to get to a cooperative outcome, I think that would be a positive development from everybody’s perspective,” said Aaron Salzberg, director of the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina. Salzberg is the State Department’s former special coordinator for water in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, which deals with international transboundary water issues.
The ministers committed Wednesday to work toward completion of an agreement by Jan. 15, 2020.
In an Oct. 5 statement, the Ethiopian government condemned Egypt’s proposal for Nile water allocation, calling Egypt’s conditions for filling the massive reservoir of the GERD “unjustified” and disruptive to “the positive spirit of cooperation.”
Egypt and Ethiopia have disagreed for years about how to divert water from the Nile. Addis Ababa is proposing the reservoir behind the dam be filled over four to seven years. But Egypt wants to require Ethiopia to receive approval at various points of the filling process, a step Cairo said is necessary to avoid droughts.
“It’s possible that nothing changes,” said Salzberg. “It is also possible that those governments start to realize that this is a region that matters to the rest of the international community, and their approach to solving this problem could affect how partners work with them in the future.”
Sudan has a 1959 Nile Waters Agreement with Egypt, reached shortly before Egypt began constructing its own Aswan High Dam, but Ethiopia was not part of that agreement.
Egypt has long sought external mediation on the GERD, while Ethiopia wants to keep the negotiations on a tripartite level.
Prior to the meeting in Washington, the Ethiopian government said the talks “are not negotiations.”
(VOA)
Trump holds talks with Foreign Ministers of Ethiopia, Egypt, Sudan
Total supports durable access to safe drinking water in Southern Ethiopia
Total as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Program, supported durable access to safe drinking water and sanitation project for the vulnerable population of Kacha Kalayo kebele, Boreda woreda – Gamo Gofa Zone –Southern Ethiopia
The objective of the project is to contribute towards the Millennium Development Goals and improve the sanitary conditions by facilitating and supporting access to potable water and basic sanitation facilities for rural communities.
This project has been initiated and financially supported by Total Ethiopia and implemented by Inter Aid France. Total Foundation supported Inter Aide France for the water project in the Scheme of “You act, we help!” Employee projects. With these support, 1722 remote families and 350 indirect beneficiaries have a permanent access to safe drinking water through the construction of 6 water points, as well as 2700 cattle heads.
During the past four years, Total Ethiopia and Total Foundation also supported over a million Birr to durable access to safe drinking water and sanitation for the vulnerable population of Mida Zalo kebele, Loma Wereda – Dawro zone and constructed six water points. With this support more than 4000 people are getting potable water service.
New taxi app service seeks to empower women, disabled
Another ride sharing app company is joining the market with a focus on attracting employees with disabilities by offering them a chance to purchase the cars at a lower interest rate. Women and owners of the old blue Lada taxies will get priority when it comes to purchasing the cars as well.
Hello Taxi, is a sister company of Cloud Worldwide Trading PLC and has been working for three years to develop the platform which will utilize GPS and Google Map to help monitor the cars and for drivers to locate customers’ destinations.
“The entire system really helps to prevent crime and gives confidence to the clients,” said Daniel Yohannis the General Manager of the company.
The service can work on offline by using a call center for a small cost.
The company has already agreed to work with Prince -import -Export Company and Marathon Motor Engineering to deliver the vehicles which will be 2016 Toyota Yaris and 2019 Hyundai cars.
To purchase the vehicles and work with Hello Taxi, a person needs to fork over 30 percent of the purchase price for a down payment fee. The rest is covered by a loan with Abyssinia Bank, which they must pay off in five years at a normal interest rate. People who have disabilities are an exception to this rule, they are entitled to interest free loans.
Both the imported and assembled cars will cost around a million birr.
Daniel says 250 vehicles have been transferred to drivers this week.
The vehicles will have a code 1 plate and be painted yellow in accordance Transport Authority regulations. Their price will be based on the meter taxi rates set by the Authority.
The cars are safe, fuel efficient and minimize their carbon footprint.
The company offers training in customer handling, and technology to its employees.
Marathon Motor engineering, which is one of the top car assembly in Africa will expected to deliver the latest Model of Hyundai before the year ends.
Riders can obtain silver, gold and platinum cards which offer incentives for repeat customers.
The company plans to expand and offer service in Bahir Dar, Adama, Mekele, Hawassa and other parts of the country.
Since March 2017 at least six taxi hailing services have entered the Addis market.
100 years for kids
In a Centenary celebration event that brought virtual reality experience to the fore, Save the Children in Ethiopia marked the 100th year anniversary on November 3, 2019 at the Hilton Hotel.
On the occasion, Inger Ashing, Save the Children International CEO, made a keynote address. Inger said that as a country where Save the Children has worked for a long time and runs one of its biggest Country Offices, “Ethiopia is the first country I chose to visit at my current position as CEO of Save the Children International, and I am delighted to be here and be able to celebrate the 100 years with you.”
Inger also spoke of the bravery of Eglantine Jebb, the founder of Save the Children, who she quoted as saying “We are at war with Germany, but we are not at war with German Children.” Inger said Jebb even went to prison for making that statement which was not a popular thing to say in the UK in 1919, and she expressed her commitment to helping children in need.
Jebb’s determination to work for the wellbeing of children manifested itself in more ways than one, and Inger reminded event attendants that Jeb drafted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1923 which was later adopted by the United Nation to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. In her speech, Inger also highlighted Save the Children’s work in Ethiopia in Health, Nutrition, WASH, Child Protection and Child Rights Governance and Livelihoods and Resilience.
This event brought together officials of the Ethiopian government and representatives of multilaterally and non-government organizations, as well as representatives of multilaterally and non-government organizations and embassy.
