§ 41. Mr. MANDERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the fact that the Abyssinian Government have abandoned the objections hitherto entertained with regard to the concession for a dam at Lake Tsana, mentioned in the London Agreement of 13th December, 1906, and the Anglo-Italian exchange of Notes of 1925, and that the Abyssinian Government are now prepared to enter into negotiations with Great Britain, Egypt, and the Sudan with the object of concluding an agreement on the subject, he will state what action the Government proposes to take?
§ The MINISTER for LEAGUE of NATIONS AFFAIRS (Mr. Eden)On 10th May the Abyssinian Government invited His Majesty's Government and the Governments of Egypt and the Sudan to send representatives to a conference at Addis Ababa with the object of concluding an agreement on this question. His Majesty's Government did not, however, wish to take any step which might aggravate the present unfortunate controversy between Italy and Abyssinia at a moment when they were using their best endeavours to secure a solution. They therefore informed the Abyssinian Government that they favoured postponement. His Majesty's Government are fully mindful of the interests of Egypt 157 and the Sudan in the upper basin of the Nile. These interests have, however, been recognised in the past both by the Abyssinian Government and by the Governments of France and Italy. His Majesty's Government are therefore content to await a more suitable moment before pressing forward with this scheme.