Ethiopia PM warns Egypt against taking dam file to UNSC-UPDATED

Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said Wednesday that Egypt would be on the losing side if it referred the issue of Ethiopia's multibillion-dollar hydroelectric dam project to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

"We're ready for this and will win politically," Desalegntold local reporters on Wednesday.

He went on to describe as "useless" Egyptian plans to take the Ethiopian dam file to the UNSC. The Ethiopian prime minister added that work on the dam was proceeding on schedule despite stalled negotiations between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, which Desalegn attributed to Egyptian "intransigence." Relations between Ethiopia and Egypt have soured over Ethiopia's plans to build its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which represents Egypt's main source of water. The controversial project has raised alarm bells in Egypt, the Arab world's most populous country, regarding its traditional share of Nile water.

Water distribution among Nile basin states has long been based on a colonial-era agreement granting Egypt and Sudan the lion's share of the river's water.  Source  (World Bulletin / News Desk)