Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she plans to take to help support an equitable solution to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam dispute; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of plans for use of the Dam on the efficacy of drought responses in (a) Nile and (b) Blue Nile riparian states.

The UK continues to urge all parties involved in the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam - Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan - to come to an agreement on the filling and operation of the dam. We urge the three sides to resolve outstanding technical issues and look forward to the African Union (AU) helping to find an agreement which ensures that water resources are managed in a way that ensures their long-term sustainable use for all parties.

We continue to speak to all three Governments through our Embassies in those countries and regularly engage the US and EU observers to the earlier AU-led process, including through the UK Special Envoy for the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa. It is a matter for the Nile River Riparian States to agree on fair and equitable use of Nile Waters.