CAIRO: Egypt’s Coptic Pontiff, Pope Shenouda II, met on Monday with the Egyptian ambassador to Ethiopia for talks over the ongoing battle for water in the Nile Basin region.
The two discussed the current developments along the Nile and the role Egypt can play in ending the ongoing stalemate and tension over a water-sharing agreement with upstream countries. It comes as Ethiopia announced continued plans to erect a massive dam along the Nile, which Cairo sees as a threat to its water security. The Coptic Church reportedly told Egyptian daily al-Youm al-Saba’a that it could help solve the impasse through its connections with the Ethiopian church. The source also said that “Egyptians are in the Pope’s heart and mind and that he is concerned with this issue especially that Egypt needs stability in the coming period, and the reduction of its shared water will affect its people whether they are Christians or Muslims.”
The meeting comes as tension builds along the Nile, with the planned dam and South Sudan’s independence, which many fear could spark a regional conflict over water resources. According to local newspapers, the Pope talked about the role of the Egyptian church in intervening in negotiations and re-establishing relations with the Ethiopian church to confirm Ethiopia’s commitment to the water agreement. More >>>
