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Casablanca – A few months following Morocco’s backing of Egypt in the Nile dam dispute with Ethiopia, Algeria welcomed Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali on August 28.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister’s two-day official visit to Algeria comes as his country seeks support in the ongoing crisis opposing Egypt and Sudan over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) that Ethiopia is building on the Blue Nile, the main tributary of the Nile River.
An important Algerian delegation, including Prime Minister Aymen Benabderrahmane, the head of Algerian diplomacy Ramtane Lamamra, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Abdelbaki Benziane, and the Minister of Culture and Arts Soraya Mouloudji, welcomed Ahmed Ali at the international airport Houari-Boumediene in Algiers.
On August 29, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune hosted Ethiopia’s Prime Minister.
Algeria’s reception of the Ethiopian Prime Minister raises the question of whether the North African country will help Ethiopia against Egypt simply because Morocco does.
Read also: Tensions Rise as Ethiopia Keeps Filling Its Nile Dam Reservoir
Addis Ababa has continued to fill the Renaissance Dam, infuriating its neighbors, who earlier this month accused it of making a “unilateral” decision “without prior agreement” with them.
Egypt has notably taken the case to the United Nations.
Last May, Morocco expressed its support for Egypt’s water rights, labeling it an integral part of Arab water security.
Rabat advocated for “the abandonment of unilateral policies in relation to international rivers and commitment to international law,” referring to the 2015 agreement that includes principles on the filling and operation of the Renaissance Dam.
Morocco also urged the opposing parties to work toward obtaining an agreement that is legally enforceable on the filling regulations of the controversial dam.
The Moroccan support was conveyed in a joint statement issued by Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and his Moroccan colleague, Nasser Bourita, at the end of their meetings in Rabat on May 10.
Morocco’s stance in the Nile dam conflict has gained the country Cairo’s backing for its territorial integrity and commitment to an international solution to the Western Sahara dispute.
