Egypt Hosts 2nd Round of GERD Negotiations Monday, Tuesday

Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia are set to resume a new round of negotiations over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Monday and Tuesday.

Ministers of Irrigation and Water Resources of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia will attend the meeting, in addition to representatives for the World Bank and the U.S. with a view to completing technical discussions on issues regarding the filling and beginning the operation of the GERD.

This meeting marks the second in a four-part series agreed upon by Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia in Washington in early November. It will be attended by experts, technicians, and ministers representing each country. The meetings are also supervised by the United States and the World Bank.

Khartoum is scheduled to host the third meeting in late December; meanwhile, Addis Ababa will host the fourth meeting in early January, ahead of the trilateral meeting of foreign and water ministers of the three countries in Washington.

In November, the three countries renewed their joint commitment to reach a “comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable agreement” regarding the dam.

This came in a joint statement issued by the US Department of the Treasury, following the tripartite meeting held in Washington D.C. under the auspices of the US, and in the presence of US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin and the World Bank Boss David Malpass.

“The World Bank and the United States (US) would support and attend the meetings as observers,” the statement read.

In addition, the ministers also agreed to “work towards the completion of the agreement by January 15, 2020” and would attend two meetings in Washington in December and January “to assess and support progress.”

“If no agreement is reached by January 15, 2020, the foreign ministers would agree to refer to Article 10 of the 2015 Declaration of Principles,” the joint statement said.

The ministers reaffirmed, “The importance of the Nile for the development of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan peoples.”

The ministers asserted their agreement to hold four technical government meetings at the level of water ministers.