Sudanese President Omar Bashir urged restoring confidence between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia – the three main parties concerned with the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

In an interview with Al Ahram Al Arabi, Bashir said this confidence dwindled in the era of ousted Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi who spoke about raiding the Ethiopian dam and backing the Ethiopian opposition.

Bashir said confidence building requires continued dialogue and cooperation among all the parties concerned.

He stressed that Egypt's historic quota of Nile water would not be affected.

There is continued coordination between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, he noted, highlighting that the dam crisis was witnessing positive developments.

He said there is a trilateral committee of the three states examining the dam's file, especially with regard to its construction and impact on the three states' water shares.

Asked about guarantees to protect Egypt's Nile water quota, he said the 1959 Nile treaty included the Sudanese and Egyptian water shares and this was underlined in the Khartoum Declaration of Principles.

The dam issue concerns the three states and it is agreed that the dam would not harm Egypt and Sudan, he said.

Concerning fears that Ethiopia could control the Nile water, Bashir said the dam is a power generation dam and such fears are baseless as the dam has to be emptied within a year to be filled with the annual flood water.

Ethiopia cannot sell the Nile water to any other country as the Blue Nile cannot be diverted to any other place, he further added.

Bashir said Sudan did not take sides either with Ethiopia or Egypt, but the dam is vital for the Sudanese people as the High Dam is vital for the Egyptians to secure needed water and generate electricity.

He underlined the depth of Egyptian-Sudanese relations, noting that Sudan seeks cementing ties with Egypt in various regional and international issues of mutual concern.

There are continued contacts with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Bashir noted, thanking Sisi for inquiring after Sudan during the flash floods crisis.

As for the Sudanese-Iranian ties, he said relations with Iran are ordinary and there are no strategic ties with Iran.

Sudan is a Sunni state and would not accept the Shiite trend, he said, expressing concerns about the spread of the Shiite trend.

As for the Syrian crisis, Bashir said many parties, including President Bashar al Assad, reject the political solution, noting that no party can be ostracized from the peaceful solution.

Regarding calls for excluding Bashar, the Sudanese president said Bashar is not just a person, he has a family, sect and party that cannot be disregarded.

Bashir said there must a political solution - not military – satisfactory to all Syrians.

Concerning Bashir's decision not to run for another presidential term, he said the decision is final, noting that his tenure will end in 2020. 

Source: MENA