SW News: With the aim of improving ties between Ethiopia and neighboring Egypt, a delegation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church paid a visit to the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The high-level ecclesiastical visit is part of the ongoing negotiations regarding the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) constructed across the Nile in Ethiopia. Both Egypt and Sudan allege that the dam will diminish their share of Nile water.

The Ethiopian delegation was led by Abuna Yusef, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Bale. During the meeting with Patriarch Tawadros, the Ethiopian prelate invited the head of the Coptic Church to visit his homeland.

Patriarch Tawadros recalled the historical, cultural, and spiritual ties of Egypt and Ethiopia. He added that such connections are represented by the dependence of both countries on the waters of the Nile. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church had an umbilical cord connection with the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria until 1959 when it was recognized as an autocephalous Church by then Coptic Patriarch Cyril VI.

The prolonged dispute between the three countries has continued even after the reservoir behind the dam began filling in July 2021. Sudan and Egypt, which rely most heavily on the Nile’s water flow, consider the US$4.6 billion reservoir a serious threat to vital water supplies. Ethiopia thinks it is essential for its electrification and development.

Ethiopia sees the dam as key to plans to become Africa's largest power exporter. Egypt, which gets more than 90 per cent of its scarce fresh water from the Nile, however, fears the dam could devastate its economy.

Both Sudan and Egypt opposed the construction of the dam from the start but the project went ahead and was commissioned on February 20 this year. At the same time, it has also helped to make way for more cooperation among all the countries that depend on the Nile.