Ethiopia FM and US Envoy Hold Renaissance Dam Talks | Political news



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The talks come at a time of heightened tension after Sudan criticized the AU’s position on Ethiopia’s unilateral filling of the dam.

US Senator Chris Coons and Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen have held talks at a time of mounting tensions between Ethiopia and its Nile Valley neighbors Sudan and Egypt as Addis Ababa continues to fill its Renaissance dam. for the second year.

The talks in Addis Ababa on Sunday also come in the context of the United States’ concern over border tensions between Ethiopia and Sudan stemming from Ethiopian army operations in the Tigray region that sent refugees to Sudan and raised the alarm in the international community.

Mekonnen said he assured the US official of his country’s commitment to African Union sponsorship of the Ethiopian Great Renaissance Dam negotiations. Ethiopia has held several rounds of talks with Sudan and Egypt, which fear that the GERD construction will lead to water shortages in their countries.

Addis Ababa argues that GERD is crucial to its economic development.

Ethiopia began filling the reservoir behind the dam last year after negotiations failed to achieve a legally binding agreement on the GERD operation.

Ethiopian officials expect the dam, now more than three-quarters complete, to reach its maximum power-generating capacity in 2023, helping to lift millions of people out of poverty.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia rejected a Sudanese proposal that an international quartet mediate the dispute, which would include the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and the African Union to resolve the stalled negotiations.

Coons, who is also the US special envoy to Ethiopia, affirmed the US strategic partnership with Ethiopia and called for a solution to the crisis in the Tigray region.

Thousands of people have died in Tigray after the fighting, hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes and there are shortages of food, water and medicine in Tigray, a region of more than five million people.



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