Final Round of GERD’s Talks to Kick off Tuesday

The last and final round of talks among Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan Foreign and water ministers over the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam ( GERD) will kick off tomorrow Tuesday in Washington, under the auspices of US Treasury secretary and the World Bank (WB) boss.

The two-day meetings aim at reaching a consensus among the three countries over the filling and operations of GERD.

The meeting was preceded by consultations among technical and legal experts from the three countries last week in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

On his part, the Sudanese ministry of irrigation spokesman Saleh Hamad said that Al-Khartoum talks witnessed a convergence of views, with differences in some technical and legal issues, indicating that the delegations prepared proposals that would be presented to the ministers of the three countries at Washington meetings.

Here’s to know the joint statement issued by the three countries in their latest meeting:

• The filling of the GERD will be executed in stages and will be undertaken in an adaptive and cooperative manner that takes into consideration the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile and the potential impact of the filling on downstream reservoirs.
• The filling will take place during the wet season, generally from July to August, and will continue in September subject to certain conditions.
• The initial filling stage of the GERD will provide for the rapid achievement of a level of 595 meters above sea level (m.a.s.l.) and the early generation of electricity, while providing appropriate mitigation measures for Egypt and Sudan in case of severe droughts during this stage.
• The subsequent stages of filling will be done according to a mechanism to be agreed that determines release based upon the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile and the level of the GERD that addresses the filling goals of Ethiopia and provides electricity generation and appropriate mitigation measures for Egypt and Sudan during prolonged periods of dry years, drought and prolonged drought.
• During long term operation, the GERD will operate according to a mechanism that determines release based upon the hydrological conditions of the Blue Nile and the level of the GERD that provides electricity generation and appropriate mitigation measures for Egypt and Sudan during prolonged periods of dry years, drought and prolonged drought.
• An effective coordination mechanism and provisions for the settlement of disputes will be established.
• The Ministers agreed that there is a shared responsibility of the three countries in managing drought and prolonged drought.
• The Ministers agreed to meet again in Washington, D.C. on January 28-29 to finalize a comprehensive agreement on the filling and operation of the GERD, and that there will be technical and legal discussions in the interim period.