Nile Dam Saga: Ethiopia rejects World Bank mediationEthiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Sunday rejected a call by Egypt for World Bank arbitration over the hydroelectric dam construction on the Nile. Egypt wants the World Bank to serve as a neutral party in the country’s lengthy but fruitless negotiations with Ethiopia and Sudan over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance dam. Most of Egypt’s current usage of 55.5 bcm comes from the Blue Nile on which the dam is being built. Speaking to the state-run Ethiopian News Agency on Sunday, Hailemariam said he rejected the World Bank arbitration proposal because “it is possible to reach agreement through cooperation and with the spirit of trust”. Talks between the three countries on how best to manage the impact of the dam broke down in November.

Source: Ethiopian News January 22, 2018 14:05 UTC