The emerging escalatory tone between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Ahmed Aby and the Egyptian government over the handling of the disputed water use of the Renaissance [Annahda] dam has raised concerns of another African conflict. The dam is expected to open next year, and Ethiopia has high hopes in its potential in the developmental growth of the country, as well as generating power for neighboring Sudan. The major row between Egypt and Ethiopia over a $5 bn dam project on the Blue Nile is a case in point. Egypt remains skeptical of the Ethiopian’s position is it will share of water from the Nile River, in addition to other possible ramifications. The Trump administration has invited Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia to a meeting in Washington on November 6 to try to break the deadlock in negotiations between Ethiopia and Egypt.
These are some of the themes to be discussed in the joint symposium held by Al Jazeera Centre for Studies and Al Jazeera Mubasher television entitled, “The Renaissance Dam Crisis and Possible Scenarios”, on Wednesday, 30 October 2019 at 6:00 pm. The seminar will take place at Al Jazeera Media Training and Development Centre Auditorium in Doha with the participation of elite politicians, researchers and experts.
The panelists will also debate the possible options of handling the emerging conflict, which – according to the statements of Egyptian officials – has reached a dead end, and implies some nightmarish outcomes. The seminar will weigh on the proposed mediation efforts between Egypt and Ethiopia, especially by Russia, and whether they would success in mitigating the crisis and reaching a middle ground, particularly during the period of filling the reservoirs.