ADDIS ABABA / CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have failed to reach agreement in a new round of talks organized by the African Union to regulate the flow of water from the giant Blue Nile hydroelectric dam built by Addis Ababa , the three countries said.
A satellite image of the brochure shows a close-up view of the Ethiopian Great Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia on July 12, 2020. Satellite Image © 2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
The UA launched its mediation effort two weeks ago, involving eleven online sessions to end the stalemate over the filling and operation of the $ 4 billion Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile, which flows into the Nile river.
The dam is the centerpiece in Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s largest energy exporter, but has raised concerns in Cairo that Egypt’s meager supplies of Nile waters, of which its population of more than 100 million people depend almost entirely, it would be further restricted.
“Without change, the additional and excessive demands of Egypt and Sudan prohibited the conclusion of this round of negotiations through an agreement,” Ethiopia’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
He did not elaborate, but said Ethiopia was willing to show flexibility as the talks continued.
The Egyptian irrigation ministry said on Monday that the three countries will present a report on the talks to mediator Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president and the president of the African Union who is preparing a new mini-summit.
“The desired objective is to always reach an agreement and that is what we are trying to achieve,” Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told local television.
Sudan’s information minister, Faisal Saleh, said Monday that the problem must be resolved through dialogue and that a fair solution was needed to limit the dam’s negative impact.
The three countries were expected to sign an agreement in Washington in February, but Ethiopia skipped the meeting and only Egypt initialed the agreement.
GERD is being built about 15 km (9 miles) from the border with Sudan on the Blue Nile, the source of most of the waters of the Nile.
Sudan and Egypt have sought a legally binding agreement before the dam is filled, which Ethiopia said would start this month with seasonal rains.
Reports by Ulf Laessing, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nayera Abdallah, Dawit Endeshaw and George Obulutsa; Editing by Giles Elgood
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