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Speaking about GERD, which Ethiopia is self-financing, Seleshi said Ethiopia’s intention is not only to produce energy for domestic consumption, but also to work with neighboring countries in an East African energy cluster that will provide energy to all of East Africa.
He also added that the 5,150 megawatt dam will guarantee clean energy to all Ethiopian citizens when completed.
The Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Energy attended the online conference which discussed accelerating renewable energy development to meet universal access to energy.
Bekele’s announcement comes a week after the GERD talks between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia came to a standstill once again.
Following a meeting on November 19 between the foreign ministers of Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt and the irrigation ministers, Sudan’s Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas announced that the negotiations had been “paused indefinitely”.
The GERD, built 15 kilometers from Ethiopia’s border with Sudan, has been the subject of controversy among the three countries.
Egypt, which has more than 85 percent of its Nile water flow from Ethiopia’s highlands, fears that the massive hydroelectric project will significantly decrease its crucial water supply, which is already below the level of scarcity. Sudan, however, fears that it could jeopardize the safety of its own dams.
Ethiopia says the dam, which will be the largest on the continent, is key to its development and hopes to become Africa’s largest electricity exporter.
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