Ethiopia Not to Attend GERD Talks in Washington

NaDa Mustafa

Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, Irrigation minister, Dr. Mohamed Abdel Aty, as well as their accompanying technical delegation headed to Washington, earlier Wednesday to participate in Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) talks, scheduled for Thursday and Friday.

In the same context, Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources announced on Tuesday that a Sudanese delegation left for Washington to talk part in GERD negotiations.

On the other hand, Ethiopia has apologized for not attending these meetings, on the pretext that it needs more time for consultations with concerned parties, and stakeholders inside Addis Ababa, according to informed sources.

It is worth mentioning that, the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources announced on Monday that Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have received a draft agreement from the U.S. Treasury on the mechanisms of filling and operating the GERD.

Since last November, the United States (US) and the World Bank (WB) intervened as mediators to resolve the differences among the three countries over the GERD.

“The three countries received the draft agreement from the U.S. Treasury to study it, and then we will meet on Feb. 28 in Washington,” Yasser Abbas, the Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, told reporters.

Abbas added, “90 percent of the issues were agreed upon… Only simple issues remain. They are important issues because they are technical. As for the main issues over the filling and operating the dam, they were all agreed upon.”

Since 2001, Ethiopia has been building the Renaissance Dam at a cost of $6 billion on the Blue Nile, the main branch of the Nile. The dam raises the concerns of Sudan and Egypt in terms of influencing their supply of Nile water.

Abbas indicated that the draft is the result of negotiations that have continued for years between the three countries.

On his part, Sudanese legal negotiator Hisham Kahin told reporters, “The draft says that the agreement is called the agreement to fill and operate the dam and it includes articles about the safety of the dam during operation and about the environment and how to resolve disputes between the three countries.”

Kahin added that “The agreement includes a text on its entry into force, and since it is an international agreement, it will not enter into force once it is signed, but after ratification by the countries concerned in accordance with their constitutional systems.”