GERD Negotiations Resume in Washington

Irrigation and foreign ministers of the three countries “Egypt – Sudan – Ethiopia” resume their negotiations, on Tuesday, about the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Yesterday, the six-party meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations kicked off, on Monday, in Washington under the auspices of The U.S. Treasury Department, and in the presence of the President of the World Bank.

Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, called on President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, to mediate in the dispute between his country and Egypt to reach a solution on the Renaissance Dam crisis.

Noteworthy, Egypt categorically rejected the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry’s statement issued recently about the ministerial meeting on the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam that was held in Addis Ababa on January 8-9.

In a statement, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry described the statement as “deliberately misleading” and “distorting the facts.”

The statement presented a picture totally inconsistent with the course of the negotiations, Egypt’s stances and technical suggestions.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the four ministerial meetings did not achieve tangible progress, because of Ethiopia’s obstinacy and its adoption of overrated stances.

The Ethiopian stances show the country’s intent to pursue de facto policy and dominate the Blue Nile as well as operating the dam without any slightest consideration for the downstream countries, especially Egypt – the downstream country- a matter which contradicts Addis Ababa legal commitments in terms of the international treaties and norms, including the agreements signed in 1902,1993, and 2015.

“Ethiopia seeks to control the Blue Nile like what it does in international rivers with brotherly countries,” the ministry noted.

Last December, the U.S. Treasury Department said that the foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan are planning to meet in Washington on January 13, seeking to reach a final agreement on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).