Ethiopia expresses readiness to resume GERD talks

Ethiopia has responded to Sudan's official request to form an international quartet committee to mediate in the stalled negotiations over Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In press statements, Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Dina Mufti said that his country "has not yet received any information regarding the quartet mediation requested by Khartoum."

He also underlined his country's readiness "to resume GERD negotiations at any time," stressing that all parties must respect the African Union (A.U.) and its role in mediation.

Moreover, the Ethiopian spokesman explained, "We have good relations with United Nations (U.N.), European Union (E.U.), African Union (A.U.) and United States (U.S.)," "But our principle remains that the A.U. should play its role."

On Monday, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok officially invited the United Nations, the United States, the European Union, and the African Union (AU) to mediate in the stalled talks between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

In the message of invitation, the Sudanese PM said that the GERD threatens its dams on the Nile and that the second filling of the dam jeopardizes the lives of 20 million of its citizens.

Hamdok expressed Sudan’s desire for the international mediation of the quartet to be limited to the controversial points currently in dispute among the three concerned countries.

Sudan has recently proposed the formation of an international quartet to help the three countries reach a legally binding agreement on the filling and operation of the Ethiopian dam.

Last year, several rounds of AU-sponsored talks, under the chairmanship of South Africa, failed to break the deadlock among the three countries, as Addis Ababa refused to sign any legally binding agreement.

Egypt has issued an official statement endorsing the recent Sudanese proposal for the formation of a quartet.

However, Ethiopia rejected the proposal, informing the DR of Congo, which is the current chair of the AU, that it would only accept talks under the African body.

Egypt has maintained that the speed of the filling of the GERD threatens its share of the Nile’s water.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Sudanese officials have agreed during a recent visit by the Egyptian president to Khartoum on the need in the current critical period for utmost coordination between Egypt and Sudan in the GERD file and stressed their joint rejection of any unilateral actions taken by Ethiopia in the dam dispute.