Ethiopian PM's Claim About Building 100 New Dams Provokes Egyptian Ire

CAIRO - Egyptian media broadcast an angry statement by Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Hafez criticizing Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed's declaration about building "100 new small and medium-sized dams" on waterways across his country during the next year.

Hafez indicated the plan is "a sign of Ethiopia's ill intentions" regarding the conflict over filling the Renaissance Dam, which has caused a casus belli with both Egypt and neighboring Sudan. Hafez added that Ethiopia must "coordinate such plans with its neighbors before causing them damage." Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi visited Djibouti last week, insisting during a press conference he was still hoping to negotiate a diplomatic solution to the conflict with Ethiopia over filling the dam. Sissi said he discussed the Renaissance Dam situation, which affects the interests of the entire region, and the need for a fair and balanced agreement over filling and operating the dam, as soon as possible. He noted Egypt's refusal of the effort of any party to impose its own plan that doesn't meet the interests or rights of countries whose interests are affected.