Sudan Announces Failure of Renaissance Dam Negotiations and Returns File to African Union

The water ministers of Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia agreed to end this round of negotiations on Ethiopia’s Great Renaissance Dam and return the file to the African Union.

This tour, which began on Sunday October 27, was to last a week; It has not been possible to progress in a tangible way in the role set by the joint meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Water, which is to agree on the role that experts can play in the negotiation, negotiation methodology, paths and timetable for the same.

Sudan has maintained, according to a statement issued by the Sudan Irrigation Ministry, on Wednesday night, during this round of refusing to return to negotiations according to the previous methodology, which did not achieve any progress. Sudan presented a detailed proposal on giving a greater role to African Union experts to bring together the views of the parties and propose compromises. Ethiopia has expressed its agreement to maximize the role of African Union experts and presented a vision similar to that of Sudan, but Egypt opposed this proposal and made proposals revolving around the continuation of negotiations through the above methods.

Yasser Abbas, Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, said Sudan is still committed to the negotiation process under the auspices of the African Union, but with a new methodology to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement on filling and operation of the Renaissance dam.

Yasser emphasized that pending technical and legal issues are limited and can be agreed if the political will is available to all parties. He noted that Sudan cannot negotiate endlessly and must ensure the safety of its water facilities, especially since the Rusayris reservoir lake is only fifteen kilometers from the Renaissance dam.