The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is a “matter of life or death” for its people, too, Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. The comments followed President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s remarks that Nile water is “a matter of life or death” for Egypt. Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan recently failed to approve a study on the dam’s potential effects, but Ethiopia says it will “continue to work with Sudan and Egypt for a fair and equitable use of the Nile water.” The Ethiopian government also “called for transparent dialogue with Egypt” on Saturday, Xinhua says. "The hydro dam will reduce the amount of siltation and floods that severely affects hydro dams in downstream countries like Egypt and Sudan by regulating the water flow," Ethiopia’s Irrigation Minister Sileshi Bekele told the newswire, explaining that Egypt has “little understanding” of the GERD’s benefits.

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