Ethiopia’s prime minister said Tuesday that his country, Egypt and Sudan reached a “great common understanding that paves the way for a decisive agreement” on a major dam project that has generated acute regional tensions and fears of military confrontation.
Egypt and Sudan see the dam as a serious threat to vital water supplies, while Ethiopia considers it essential for its electrification and development.
The declaration of Abiy AhmedThe office came when new satellite images show that the water level in the reservoir behind the Great Ethiopia Renaissance dam, nearly finished at $ 4.6 billion, is at its highest point in at least four years.
Last week, Ethiopia acknowledged that water was accumulating in the dam reservoir, although authorities said this was a “natural” part of the construction process.
Ethiopia has said the increase in water comes from heavy rains, and the statement said, “It has become apparent in the past two weeks in the rainy season that the [dam’s] the first year is completed and the dam under construction is already collapsing. “
Press release on the extraordinary follow-up meeting of the Bureau of the African Union Assembly on #GERD. pic.twitter.com/TdhLEnz49l
– Prime Minister’s Office – Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) July 21, 2020
Ethiopia had said it would start filling the dam reservoir, the largest in Africa, this month, even without an agreement, as the rainy season floods the Blue Nile. But the new statement said the leaders of the three countries agreed to continue “more technical discussions on filling … and proceed to a comprehensive agreement.”
The statement did not elaborate on Tuesday’s discussions, mediated by current African Union President and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, or what was agreed.
But conversations between the country’s leaders showed the critical importance attached to finding a way to resolve tensions over the famous Nile River, a lifeline for everyone involved.
A general view of the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) near Guba in Ethiopia [File: AFP]
Ethiopia says the colossal dam offers a critical opportunity to lift millions of its nearly 110 million citizens out of poverty and become a major energy exporter.
Downstream, Egypt, which depends on the Nile to supply its farmers with fresh water and a booming population of 100 million, says it poses an existential threat.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stressed “Egypt’s sincere willingness to continue to make progress on the issues in dispute,” a statement from the spokesman said. He said the leaders agreed “to prioritize the development of a binding legal commitment regarding the base to fill and operate the dam.”
Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas told journalists in the capital Khartoum, tThe three leaders “agreed to continue their negotiations to overcome the trouble spots.”
He said that the negotiations would continue in accordance with the basic principle of the “fair and reasonable use” of the dam, adding that once the agreement has been solidified, Ethiopia reserves the right to modify some figures related to the operation of the dam. during dry periods.
“There are other trouble spots, but if we agree with this basic principle, the other issues will be resolved automatically,” he said.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Ethiopia’s leader both called Tuesday’s meeting “fruitful.”
Interactive: saving the Nile
Negotiators have said key questions remain about the amount of water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration in the final stage.
“It is absolutely necessary that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, with the support of the African Union, reach an agreement that maintains the interest of all parties,” Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU commission, said on Twitter, adding the Nile. “It should remain a source of peace.”
Years of conversations with a variety of mediators have failed to find a solution.
Kevin Wheeler, a researcher at the Oxford University Institute for Environmental Change, said fears of any immediate water shortages “are not justified at this stage at all, and the increasing rhetoric is due more to changes in the dynamics of power in the region. “
However, “if there were a drought in the coming years, that could certainly become a risk,” he said.
The years-long dispute confronts Ethiopia’s desire to become a major energy exporter and development driver against Egypt’s concern that the dam will significantly reduce its water supply if it fills up too quickly.
Egypt, which relies almost entirely on the Nile for its freshwater supplies, views the dam as an existential threat. Sudan has long been caught between competing interests.
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