Name? Seleshi Bekele
Westphalian identity? Ethiopian
Age? In his 50s? This man really needs a Wikipedia article if he wants to stay minister.
Why is he in the news? He is the minister of water in Ethiopia and as such has had some explaining to do after allegations from Sudan and Egypt claimed that Ethiopia started filling the Renaissance Dam. And because we live in the 21st century, he simply responded on Twitter:
Why do we care? We have been closely following the Renaissance Dam over the past few months and have written many articles about this fascinating topic in IR. Also, after talks broke down last Wednesday, this “weather phenomenon” really comes at the wrong time…
Why should you care? Because the entire project depends on diplomats and analysts to complete it without millions of people suffering or potentially even armed conflict breaking out. No pressure, but good governance and diplomacy will ultimately determine the future of these countries. This is especially true after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said
“If Ethiopia doesn’t fill the dam, it means Ethiopia has agreed to demolish the dam.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
Who else cares? Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry replied that without an agreement
“that protects the downstream communities… it would heighten tensions and could provoke crises and conflicts that further destabilise an already troubled region.”
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry
Egypt and Sudan have called for the US to mediate multiple times but Ethiopia has rejected these claims as Trump is still searching for the region on a South American map…
Any further comments? In between Egypt and Ethiopia we have Sudan, a country which needs to play its cards carefully towards both sides. While Sudan wants an agreement just as much as Egypt in order to secure its water supply, the government also needs to balance its relationship with Ethiopia as the Dam could solve Sudan’s flooding problems and create much needed electricity.
