The Global Water Institute (GWI) at 杏吧原创 University would like to invite you to our third Water Conversations talk of the academic year.
Our November speaker is H.E. Ahmad Abu Zeid, Ambassador of Egypt, and he is going to provide the Egyptian perspective on the Nile Waters. This event will be held at the 杏吧原创 Dominion-Chalmers Centre, and light dinner will be provided. We have limited seating, so please make sure to RSVP if you would like to attend.
Speaker: H.E. Ahmad Abu Zeid, Ambassador of Egypt
Title: Nile Waters at Risk鈥� Time for Water Diplomacy! An Egyptian Perspective
Date, time and location: November 26, Tuesday, at 5:30 pm
杏吧原创 Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St.
RSVP: banu.ormeci@carleton.ca
ABSTRACT:
Nile Waters at Risk鈥� Time for Water Diplomacy! An Egyptian Perspective
The Greek historian 鈥淗erodotus鈥� once called Egypt the 鈥淕ift of the Nile, in a clear testimony to the extent to which the land of Egypt draws its very existence from the rich waters of the legendary river.
For Millenniums, Egyptians depended on the Nile as the primary source of water. However, the fact that this transboundary river emanates from outside the Egyptian territories in the Equatorial and Ethiopian plateaus, crossing 10 countries before reaching its downstream destination in Egypt, leaves the country and its 104 Million people in a significantly fragile water security situation.
Throughout the past four decades, Egypt adopted a positive engagement and confidence building strategy towards the Nile basin countries, in a manifestation of its constant belief that cooperation along the Nile is the only means to achieve mutual benefits, Win 鈥揥in solutions, and no harm scenarios.
In Egypt鈥檚 view, Ethiopia鈥檚 decision to build the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) in absence of an agreement with downstream countries pertaining to its filling schedule and annual operation, is considered the biggest challenge to Egypt鈥檚 water security, and threatens the stability of a fragile region.
This lecture will tackle the main risks facing the future of the Nile waters, recent developments in GERD negotiations, as well as the role of international water diplomacy in bringing solutions and overcoming deadlocks. It will also question the ability of the existing International Water Law architecture to resolve newly emerging water crises.
SPEAKER BIO:
H.E. Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zeid is a career Diplomat with 26 years of experience in diplomatic and governmental Affairs.
He has been working for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 21 years where he assumed various positions at the Headquarter and abroad, the latest was as the spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs for three consecutive years.
Ambassador Abu Zeid served in a number of diplomatic missions abroad; Egyptian Embassy in Washington DC, The Egyptian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, and the Consulate General of Egypt in San Francisco.
At the Headquarter, Ambassador Abu Zeid worked for more than ten years as an advisor to the Egyptian Foreign Minister for Nile Waters Issues and relations with Nile Basin Countries. He was the lead Foreign Ministry negotiator on the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) Comprehensive Framework Agreement, the Trilateral National Committee on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, as well as the Declaration of Principles (DOP) on GERD.
Ambassador Abu Zeid is also an expert on Middle East Politics, African Affairs, Media & Public Diplomacy, Counter Terrorism, UN & Multilateral Diplomacy.