At a meeting in Cairo with representatives of Nile Basin countries on Sunday, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Allam announced that Egypt had agreed to build several small dams in Ethiopia with the aim of generating electricity.

The Minister was quick to point out that the dams--to be built within the framework of a cooperation initiative with Nile Basin countries--would not affect Egypt's and Sudan's historical water rights.

Allam also declared that Egypt was in the process of helping Uganda remove flotsam in the Victoria Falls region of the Nile that had served to obstruct navigation and transport on the river.

The minister added that irrigation ministers from all Nile Basin states would soon meet in the Sinai resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh for a third round of talks over water-sharing issues.

"We will announce an exact date for the meeting once we agree on it," he said, explaining that Egypt was also cooperating with Nile Basin countries in a number of non-water-related fields, including industry, agriculture, trade and tourism.

Egyptian Trade Union Federation head Hussein Megawer, for his part, said that he planned to invite trade union heads from Nile Basin states to participate in Egyptian Labor Day celebrations.

"We will also discuss implementation of the action plans tabled by international labor organizations, especially those pertaining to environmental protection and conservation of natural resources," said Megawer.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

Source: almasryalyoum