The prime minister of Ethopia has rejected all threats by Egypt, in order to prevent the construction of dam and other projects on the Nile river. Meles Zenawi told that Eygpt can’t prevent Ethopia from construction of dam on the river nile.

Just few days back Ethopis along with Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania signed a treaty on sharing nile water equally But there was strong opposition from neighboring Sudan and Eygpt who have major area of the river water. Egypt and Sudan have an veto power by which they can build project which can affect the flow of water.

The river Nile flows through 10 african nations, and one of teh major conflicts comes when it  comes to distribution of water.

Meles Zenawi said “Some people in Egypt have old-fashioned ideas based on the assumption that the Nile water belongs to Egypt, and that Egypt has a right to decide who gets what, and that the upper [Nile basin] countries are unable to use the Nile water because they will be unstable and they will be poor,” he said.

“These circumstances have changed and changed forever. Ethiopia is not unstable. Ethiopia is still poor, but it is able to cover the necessary resources to build whatever infrastructure and dams it wants on the Nile water.”

“A government official told me that Egypt does not oppose the development of these countries,” he said.

“But at the end of the day, Egypt does not want to see the flow of the Nile and the water share of the Nile being hindered or reduced.”

Egypt and Sudan fear that if other contries use the water, then there may be shortage  of water.
[Al Jazeera News Agency]