good can become i tried paul tied development project to enhance mutual trust and win win cooperation. goldie china, we attaches great importance to the issue of good and appreciate the fact that in 2015, the 3 countries signed a declaration of principles on gird through dialogue and negotiations and held multiple round of negotiations under the auspices of the a you the a u. has made lots of efforts to facilitate the tripartite negotiations and china appreciates the active role played by president chester getty and president rama photon as current and former a you president will talk to you and china has noted the positions expressed in bare recent letters sent to the consoles by the foreign ministers of egypt, if you'll be and today from the utilization of transponder water resources involves

the distribution of natural national interests upstream and downstream, which is very complex and sensitive. trying to fully understand the legitimate concerns of egypt. if you'll be a sudan regarding good on this issue, china remains consistent in its position that the pottage should resolve differences through dialogue and consultation and achieve mutual benefit. and when, when result in african countries have a fine tradition or resolving regional problems through dialogue and consultation. egypt, if you'll be as, who are all important countries in the region. and good frames of china. and china sincerely hopes that the 3 parties and 3 countries in the spirit of friendly corporation were resume dialogue and consultation as soon as possible. reach an agreement at an early date on this illusion acceptable and beneficial to

all 3. and look forward to the a usually continued do you grow? would you feel that the international community, including this council should support the 3 countries in resolving their differences and through dialogue and consultation? and to that end, create a favorable external environment to jointly maintain peace, stability and development in the african region. china stands ready to continue to play a constructive role along with all of the parties. thank you mister president. you'll see, i think the representative of china for his statement. and i shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of front the, please. all i welcome to present this year to council table of foreign affairs ministers of egypt and sudan, and the minister of water of if you can go,

i think mr. and mrs. anderson and the shashi differ of the democratic republic of congo, for there is no statement i wish to underscore 3 points. it is the responsibility of the security count, so to avoid a prolonged dispute from becoming a threat for maintaining international peace and security. this is why it was important to can be in this meeting. all of the parties have legitimate interest and he said after 10 years of negotiations, me trust has been shattered. in the absence of a prior agreement, the continued filling up the rest of the dam stokes attention. given that regional stability is current to fragile. the priority is to avoid adding to the challenges already faced by each country. i'm thinking 1st of the democratic transition in the student whose success is a priority for france to both. i'm thinking of the challenges faced by egypt to

meet the needs of its people. and i'm thinking of the development challenges in the t great conflict has field other pensions, particularly in the phone of the l fresh. i got triangle against this backdrop. we call upon the country to the regions to exhibit political will to resolve a dispute through dialogue with the support of the african union. indeed, the solution can only come as a result of dialogue between the parties themselves. we call upon them to abstain from any action which could jeopardize the continued discussion and to be stablish ment of a negotiated solution said your friends, welcome the efforts of the chairmanship of the african union to support the negotiations in particularly the personal mobilization of president, rama foe's now off president, she security, the field of these efforts must continue and be stepped up. and once we encourage the united nations to continue to contribute that expertise to this process. and we

encourage the 3 parties to accept a more active role by the new observers. to the negotiations and their friends is convinced that an agreement can be found rapidly between the parties on the filling and management of the ben. it's on stem. the elements of convergence, which negotiations under the auspices of the african union with make you 1000 sort of france, solomon calls upon p, a. egypt and sudan, unfair sense of responsibility, compromise and cooperation. so as to resolve pending questions. as soon as possible, france will remain mobilized so as to ensure that negotiated solution can be found as swiftly as possible. before i resume my function as president of the council, and i now give the floor to his excellency mister semi should create the minister of foreign affairs of egypt. without even rahim your

excellency ambassador there, they're much representative of france to the united nations and president of the un security council. distinguished representatives of the member states of the united nations security council. dear sister, the foreign minister of sudan and deer brothers, the representatives of a democratic republic of congo. and of a theory of the outset. i would like to extend my congratulations to ambassador revere on assuming the presidency of the security council and to thank on the secretary general in grandison the executive director of unit. and the us special envoy for the horn of africa for the remarks, the president, egypt. a nation of over 100000000 souls is facing an existing show threat. a grand structure of mammoth proportion has been constructed

across the our tree that bequeathed life to the people of egypt. a colossal wall of iron and steel has risen along the banks of a great and ancient river. and that's cast along and dark shadow over the future and faith of the people of egypt. with every brick and every layer of mortar, the girl grows higher and its reservoir grows larger, and it continues to constrict the life blood of innocent millions living downstream of this giant dam. last year, on june 29th, 2020, egypt came before the security council to warn the international community of this burgeoning danger that was brewing on the horizon. we alerted the world to the impending 1st filling of the gird and we cautioned against the cost of seeking to establish exclusive control over

a river on which our survival depends. we implored this august buggy to act with vigilance and vigor, to avert an escalation of tensions that could prejudice the peace in a fragile region. we called upon our brethren with which we share the riches of denial to exercise responsibility and to recognize that the future and fortunes of our peoples are intrinsically intertwined. and yet, within days of the previous security council session held on the question of the goods, there will be hon. what's crossed if you will be a commence the unilateral filling of the guard and its foreign minister declared with no small measure of impudence. and i quote, the river became a lake. the nile is ours and of quote. nonetheless, egypt response to this assault on the river was to act with restraint and pursue

the path of peace by seeking a settlement to this crisis through an equitable agreement that preserves the interests of all 3 parties. we wholeheartedly embrace the initiatives of the van chairperson of the african union, his excellence, the president, sarah room, a photo of south africa to initiate negotiations under the auspices of the african union. and we engaged in a whole year of talks that were convenient and facilitated by our african brethren to forge an african solution to this intractable problem. and yet, we have failed after a year of abortive negotiations, and despite the tireless efforts of the chair, persons of the african union and our international partners, we find ourselves again. confronted by the reality of the unilateral execution of the filling of the gird without an agreement to protect thou seem communities

against the dangers of this dam. indeed. and the further demonstration of its obstinacy in europe announced on july the 5th, 2021. a mere 3 days before the convening of this very session, that it has commenced the 2nd year filling of the goods. without an agreement. this blatant act of unilateralism is not only a manifestation of the feel be of the responsibility. and it's scarlet indifference to the damage of the filling of this dam could inflict upon egypt and so then. but it also illustrates if the opiates back the faith but its attempt to impose a fetter, complete in defiance of the collective will of the international community. as expressed and embodied in the holding of the security council session to discuss and take action on the question of the good. and in this regard,

i take note and commands the european union for issuing a statement today. expressing regret that c o p a has begun executing the 2nd filling without an agreement. and i encourage the security council and its member states to take a similar position and respond to this deeply troubling development. something which has not been displayed in today's intervention. this persistent practice of unilateralism betrays, if the o, p has disregard, if not it's contempt of international law and reflects its underlying policies objectives of seeking to address the nile and transform this trans boundary level of life into an instrument of political influence and control. all of which threatens to undermine peace and security in the region. this is why mister president, egypt has elected to again, bring the question of the good before the security council. if you're p as

underline thing, your lateralism, the continued failure of negotiations and the absence of this juncture of a viable path towards the political settlement of this matter. have all. busy impelled the egypt to call upon the security council to intercede expeditiously and effectively, to prevent an escalation of tensions. and to address the situation which could, as stated an article, 34 of the united nations charter endanger the maintenance of international peace and security. we have come to this chamber, out of an abiding faith in the value of international law and an unwavering belief in the virtue of unit multilateralism as a vehicle for promoting peace and preventing conflict and strife. we are driven by a commitment to the principles enshrined and the united nation starter and an enduring confidence in the capacity of the security council to discharge its duty

to maintain international peace and security by taking the necessary action in relation to the question of the birds indeed, the great value to let you manatee, of this body is its ability and authority to act preemptively, to protect and uphold the piece, and not to stand by in a state of indifferent abeyance as the rights of nations. and their very existence are threatened. mister president, egypt has engaged in a whole decade of negotiations on the guards. since if the unit i thoroughly commenced the construction of this dam without fulfilling the duty of incumbent upon it as an upstream state to notify and consult its down st downstream quarter. right, variance, egypt has sought to reach an agreement on the girl that would preserve the rights of our 3 countries and promote the common interests. our hope was and remains to

conclude a legally binding agreement that enables the theo appear to achieve its developmental objectives by generating hydro power from the gerd expeditiously, efficiently and sustainably. this reflects to the fact that egypt was and remains committed to a few of your stability and prosperity. and it also exemplifies egypt, long standing policy of engendering and expanding corporation with our core i perience throughout the nile basin. however, any agreement undergird must be equitable reasonable, and the legally binding it must include provisions to mitigate the adverse effects of the dam. especially during periods of drought. it must prevent the infliction of significant time on the right, perry and interests of egypt, and so then it must be guarantee the safety functionality and resilience of

downstream dams. and it must ensure that egypt, walter security is not imperiled by the feeling and operation of what will become africa, the largest hydro power facility. realizing this objective of concluding a fair and balanced agreement on the good is not unsurmountable, nor is it beyond reach. indeed, the continued failure of negotiations is not due to lack of scientific solutions to the out standing technical issues. nor is it because we like the requisite legal expertise to draft an agreement. rather, the singular source of our failure has been and remains. if the op unit senses and this reality is best reflected in the following statement, from the letter addressed by his excellency, the minister of foreign affairs of europe, yet to the security council on june, the 23rd, 2021. and i quote, filling the up and operating the gerd without seeking agreement from egypt and

sudan is the bare minimum of the exercise of the sovereign prerogative, as i perry and country of an international water, of course, and of quote, the sentiment and the statement. mister president, is the root of the problem. it demonstrates that the cause of this crisis is political. it reveals that if the opera is operating under the assumption that it is in, in gauged the notion negotiations on the gerd out of committee or charity. if you has conveniently decided to ignore the realities of geography and appears to be under the illusion that the blue nile is an internal river that it can exploit to its exclusive benefit. and it seems to presume that this water, of course, that freely and naturally flows through the territories of its score periods, can be subjected to its sovereignty and placed under its dominion. this unfortunate

posture has thwarted every effort to reach an agreement and has been echoed in the positions that if you'll be adopted throughout the decade of negotiations. for instance, if you'll be on refuses to sign a legally binding agreement, there's even objected to calling the instrument being negotiated an agreement, and has proposed to designate the text as merely guidelines. the rules. if he has refused to include any form of binding dispute resolution provisions and insists on codifying an and limited right to alter and amend the girl agreement whenever it's so desires. if you'll be asked to justify these unreasonable positions by invoking some mythical injustice that had been wrought upon it by so called colonial treaties or by, by an unfair status quo. nothing can be further from the truth. if the appeal was never a colony and has never concluded the 3 at $32.00,

relating to the nile under the threat of coercion or compulsion. moreover, egypt has never objected to a few years right to hardness the resources of the blue nile. however, egypt expects and indeed demands that its upstream core i perry and complies with its international legal obligations which required it to prevent the infliction of significant harm against the interests of its downstream neighbors. if the o p as also so you can use the girl negotiations as a back door for which to up, consecrate and unlimited and, and regulated the right to construct future projects along the beautiful blue sky. and has demanded that it's called ip ariens sy, hydro logical blank check that grants it unrestricted control of the river. this was expressed in no uncertain terms in the letter dated january, the 8th, 2021 from his excellency if the minister of water in which he stated, and i quote,

if you have, does not have an obligation emanating from law or practice to acquire agreement from downstream countries to construct the goods or any future water development projects and of quotes. this policy was put into practice when his ex, i don't see the prime minister of you if the announced on may the 30th. 2021. that his grand country plans to construct over $100.00 dams over the coming fiscal year without even the slightest mention of the interest or equities of it's called parents. as if it's the o. p a holds exclusive proprietary rights over the nile and the other rivers of the chairs with his neighbors, which was especially apparent in the damage inflicted by a c o, p o, on lake door canada, and gimme a. so president, despite, if you'll be persistent pattern about faith and in spite of its incessant

unilateralism, egypt continued to negotiate in good faith and with a genuine political will to each an equitable agreement. for a whole decade, we explored every avenue and exhausted every opportunity to conclude the document that would enable if you appear to fill and operate the dirt while mitigating it's harmful downstream impacts. an agreement that would become an instrument of regional integration and collaboration. and that would handle the new era of cooperation between our 3 countries. we sought an agreement 3 years of fruitless trilateral negotiations during which if the opium effectively torpedoed our efforts to undertake joint studies on the socio economic impacts of the good and to assess its environmental impacts. and as a result of if yoke is obstruction as them we now have no impartial. busy scientific record of the adverse effects of this mega them. egypt also accepted an invitation to participate in negotiations facilitated by the united states of

america and the world bank growth. and in which if the o p. r dissipated fully and freely. and that led to the drafting after 12 rounds of intensive negotiations of a comprehensive agreement on the feeling on operation of the girl, which egypt sign, but which is the oprah rejected. we also engaged in negotiations held upon the invitation from his excellency, the prime minister of so then which despite significant progress and she that was achieved, were ultimate, ultimately undermine that by a few opiates, ranches. moreover, for a whole year since the previous session convened by the security council on the question of bird egypt participated actively a minute ago, she ations that were led by the african union. we engaged in this a new lead process with a sense of optimism and faith in the ability of our african brethren to facilitate

the adoption of an agreement. on the gerd, we work diligently to implement the instructions of the bureau of the assembly of the african union at the summit level to reach a legally binding agreement on the feeling and operation of the goods. and we welcome the constructive engagement of our partners from the european union and the united states in this process. however, after a year of faltering negotiations and despite the highly appreciated good offices, untiring efforts of his excellency president, sarah, i'm a father of south of south africa and his excellency, president and felix jessy. katy of the democratic republic of congo during the respective period. the share of the african union, the a you lead process failed to yield the desired agreement are 3 countries were

even unable to execute the simple task of compiling a complete text of a 0 draft of the good agreement that provides a record of their negotiating positions and countless weeks were exhausted, ineffective, ineffectual, virtual meetings and disagreements on peripheral matters of procedure. more troubling li throughout this process. if you effectively derail the a, you lead negotiations, it's repeatedly up to 10. attempted to redirect the talks towards reaching non binding arrangements for the filling of the girl or for the appointment of focus points for the change of technical data. while these ideas may appear reasonable to the untrained eye, they are the yeah, that is the be that the opium proposal contravene the instructions of the bureau of the assembly of the african union at the summit level, which directed us to agree on the rules governing both of

a filling on operation of the girl. more importantly, the practical effect of these, if the opium proposal is to deny the downstream states any meaningful protection against the adverse effects of the girl. and the title. if you have to fill its reservoir and activates it massive turbans without instituting rules to mitigate the harmful harmful impact of this dam and regulate its operation, thereby posing a grave danger to our rights and interests. furthermore, despite claiming to support the granting of an enhanced role to our partners who attended the a, you led the locations of the observers. the reality is that during the latest ministerial meeting held in kinshasa on april the 4th to the 6th of 2021. upon the kind invitation from his excellency president felix,

just the katy. if the projected every proposal submitted by sedan and egypt to augment the lead process and expand the role of our partners in order to assist us in reaching an agreement on the girds. as such, i find that deeply disheartening that they must report to the security council that they are a you let process in its current format has reached an impasse. a have a whole year of negotiations was expanded and fruitless stops while as the continued the construction of the bird, and has now reached the point of continuing to unilaterally fill its reservoir to present throughout these winding and arduous processes. and at every juncture of the negotiations, if you appear remain implacable, is refused every proposal and rejected every idea presented by egypt that would have guaranteed that if you would be able to generate hydro power from the girl at

optimal levels of efficiency. while protecting downstream states against the potential harms of this down the appear also blocked every compromise formula submitted to us by our international partners. and continued to adopt inflexible positions designed to evade than elude any commitment to protect or even provide minimal safeguards to the interests of egypt. and so then even our efforts to in gender confidence and build bridges, a thrust between our countries came to not we signed the 2015 agreement on declaration of principles to affirm our commitment to reaching a fair and equitable agreement on the guard. we presented a plan to establish a common infrastructure fund to broaden the horizon of cooperation between our countries. we propose to contribute to the financing of the girls to turn them in to assemble the friendship and brotherhood between our countries and peoples. and

we suggested to extend our power lines to help energize if the o p and assist this quest for development. and still, if the o p remained unyielding and it's in transit, as a result of to downstream states are now left vulnerable to the evils of the guards . we have no independently verifiable guarantees regarding the safety and structural stability of the guard. and such 150000000 suit the needs and objections are condemned by a therapy to live under the harrowing spectre of a towering structure that can hold up to 74000000000 cubic meters of water without assurances regarding it safety or reliability. nor do we have any protection against the incalculable damage of the good can inflict during future periods of drought. at the time on the river grows dry and the land get sparks under the ceiling sun and the livelihoods of egyptians is in peril. if the

o p as unwilling to release the waters of the blue nile to quench the thirst of the downstream valley. indeed, that is the crux of the problem. all that egypt has called for and sought is a binding agreement that includes an insurance policy against the harmful impacts of the girl on egypt. swatter security. by designing a mechanism through which are 3 countries could cooperate, to collectively bear the burden of addressing future periods of droughts. unfortunately, however, if you remain steadfast in its rejection of any form of agreement that provides any meaningful measure of protection to the interests of downstream states. and so mister president does not an overstatement to affirm that for egypt the girl is an existential threat. our estimates and scientific models indicate that this mega

them can wreck in the calculable damage on egypt. despite the precautionary measures that we have taken, in anticipation of it, the unilateral feeling of the girl and our tire, this efforts at conservation and water re youth for us, the heart of the girl might inflict, will affect every aspect of the lives of the egyptian people. like a malignant play in the absence of an agreement that regulates its filling and operation. the good can cause coming to that of water shortage and egypt amounting to 120000000 cubic meters. it will diminish access to clean drinking water. it could deprive millions of farmers of the water they used to irrigate their fields. it will rob countless families of their income and livelihood. it will destroy thousands of acres of arable land, will increase diversification and degrade the right perry and echo system. and it will increase vulnerability to the effects of climate change. this is

a situation that egypt cannot and will not tolerate. it is therefore imperative that for the international community to exert every effort, including by acting through the security council to preempt this eventuality and prevent the girl from becoming a threat to the very existence of egypt. this requires the cow so to unequivocally call upon the parties to reach an equitable agreement on the girl within a defined timeline, and to encourage them to work diligently and with earnestness to achieve that objective forthwith. otherwise if it's right, perry and rights are jeopardized or if it's survival is imperiled, egypt will be left with no alternative.