A public lecture on the GERD is organized on Sep. 17, 2021

Blue Nile Water Institute organized a public lecture on the GERD today (Sep. 17, 2021). The lecture, which as entitled “Comparative Analysis of Indus Basin Treaty – 1960 and Declaration of Principles – 2015”, was given by the Ambassador of Pakistan in Ethiopia, H.E. Mr. Shozab Abbas.  

The lecture was opened with a brief welcome address by the Director of Blue Nile Water Institute, Dr. Dagnachew Aklog. After welcoming the Ambassador and his wife, Dr. Dagnachew mentioned that Pakistan is a global superpower in irrigation systems development and there is a lot Ethiopia can learn from Pakistan. Dr. Dagnachew also emphasized the importance and timeliness of the public lecture by mentioning that the lessons obtained from the Indus Basin Treaty, which has avoided a potential water conflict between India and Pakistan, can be useful to solve our dispute with Sudan and Egypt over the GERD and Abbay River. 

H.E. Ambassador Shozab Abbas started his lecture by expressing the unique position Ethiopia has in him and the Muslim world in general because Ethiopia protected and hosted a group of Muslims who were advised by Prophet Muhammad to travel to Ethiopia to escape persecution in Mecca in 615AD and the first Muezzin and one of the most trusted companions of Prophet Muhammad, Bilal ibn Ribah, was born to an Ethiopian mother.

Some of the main points mentioned by H.E. Ambassador Shozab include the following.

• Availability of sufficient freshwater for domestic, irrigation, hydropower and other uses is crucial for existence and sustainable development of any nation. In other words, water is the life and death of any nation.
• The Ethiopian people should be saluted for being able to finance the multi-billion dollar dam project, the GERD, by their own. In a similar attempt in Pakistan, which has a population of roughly twice that of Ethiopia, it was only possible to raise only one-tenth of a $5 billion dam project which is currently under construction.
• A successful Basin Treaty can avoid a potential water conflict among riparian states. For instance, the Indus Treaty has effectively solved the water conflict (dispute) between India and Pakistan. However, the treaty or agreement should be based on the principles of “Equitable and Reasonable Utilization” and “Not Causing Significant Harm” as stated in the 2015 DoP.
• Transboundary water negotiation, by its nature, takes very long. The Indus Basin Treaty, for instance, took more than 10 years (1948 -1960) of negotiation. So there shouldn’t be any frustration by the time the GERD negotiation is taking.
• The Indus Treaty is a well-articulated document with 12 Articles which was developed in collaboration with the World Bank and TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority). Two most important Articles in this document describe about the Permanent Indus Commission (Article 8) and Settlement of Differences and Disputes (Article 9). The treaty document can be used as a reference for future similar agreements.
• Cooperation and Cooperation is the only way forward to solve the dispute over the Abbay River or the GERD. Adoption of scientific approaches, focusing on regional development, development and use of groundwater in downstream countries (Sudan and Egypt) and establishing working relations with other transboundary river basins, such as Indus, are all crucial elements to ensure equitable and reasonable use of the shared water resources.

After responding to the questions raised from the audience, the Ambassador concluded his lecture by promising that he will do his best to take the relationship between Ethiopia and Pakistan to a higher level through cooperation on transboundary rivers management.  

The public lecture was concluded with brief closing remarks by Prof. Yihenew G/Silassie, Executive Director of Research and Publications at BDU. Prof. Yihenew thanked the Ambassador for his interesting and educative lecture and expressed his hope that Ambassador will try his best to convince the Arab World to revise their unfair treatment of Ethiopia in recent years.