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Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will resume African Union-led negotiations on the Ethiopian Great Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Sunday, following a month-long hiatus.
The meeting was suspended in early November after Sudan demanded a change in negotiating methodology.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Atti will participate in the meeting.
The three countries will discuss the Sudanese proposal to give a bigger role to the African Union (AU) in reaching a binding legal agreement. The meeting will review a draft memorandum prepared by the AU.
The European Union (EU), observer of the GERD negotiations, welcomed the resumption of the talks in an official statement, noting that it provides “an important opportunity to move towards an agreement on the rules for filling the GERD and reach a solution to the disagreements between the three countries on the rules for filling and operating the Ethiopian dam ”.
EU foreign and security policy representative Josep Borrell said that reaching an agreement on GERD will allow countries to achieve stability in the Nile basin, stressing that now is not the time to increase tensions.
Borrell added that the EU fully supports South Africa’s efforts to encourage the three countries to reach a solution, adding that “the EU looks forward to the imminent resumption and successful conclusion of the GERD talks.”
Sources responsible for the Nile water archive said that the meetings will discuss Sudanese demands not to start the second phase of filling the GERD without reaching an agreement with Egypt and Sudan, indicating that the current round is aimed at reaching a binding and legal agreement for filling and operating GERD, provided it does not adversely affect the flows of water from the Blue Nile to Sudan and Egypt.
Edited translation by Al-Masry Al-Youm
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