Ethiopia denies water cooperation with Israel

The Deputy Speaker of the Ethiopian Parliament denied Israel was instigating his country to build dams on the Nile tributaries to block a great portion of Egypt and Sudan's shares.

These reports are baseless and Ethiopia had only signed a scientific and technical cooperation agreement with Israel, the senior lawmaker said in an interview with the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai' Al-Aam, published Monday.

He said that the deal with Israel was meant to reclaim and plant areas which have no access to enough water.

The legislator also added that Ethiopia and Israel cooperated on the issue of Falasha Jews.

Many Falasha Jews living in Ethiopia have immigrated to Israel.

However, he said, Ethiopia is keen not to mix up things when it comes to relations with different countries.

Ethiopia is interested in not harming its relations with the Arab states through its cooperation with Israel, said the legislator.

Ethiopia is a member of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI), a partnership among countries overlooking the Nile River.

It was launched in 1999 with the aim of promoting cooperation among Nile states to guarantee the sustainable use of the river.