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Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), will host a new round of negotiations on the Nile dam in Ethiopia on Saturday.
The talks, convened by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, current president of the African Union, will bring together the foreign and irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.
Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Irrigation Minister Mohamed Abdel Aaty headed to Kinshasa on Friday.
The 3-day talks on the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), come after a 3-month hiatus.
Egypt is aiming for a serious and effective negotiation process to reach a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the dam, according to Egypt’s Foreign Ministry.
Meanwhile, Sudan announced its participation in this round to determine the negotiating methodology and ensure constructive negotiations.
Sudan will also affirm its adherence to the need to seek quadripartite international mediation that includes the European Union (EU), the United Nations (UN) and the United States of America (USA).
This quartet will work under the leadership of the African Union, to help the three parties reach a binding legal agreement on the filling and operation of the Nile Dam that addresses the interests of all parties.
This comes after President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s claim on Tuesday that
Egypt will not allow anyone to take a single drop of its water, “and no one is untouchable to us.”
Al-Sisi said: “I always stress that negotiation is our first option from the beginning. Any hostile action is ugly and will have a huge effect on the stability of the region.
The President explained that Egypt chose to follow the path of negotiation and affirmed that it does not seek anything outside of international law.
He reiterated that Egypt does not threaten anyone and only adopts a reasonable and rational dialogue.
President Al-Sisi said that if any outside actor took even a drop of Egyptian water, there would be inconceivable instability throughout the region. He added that it is not beyond Egypt’s ability to take action if its water is taken.
“If someone affects Egypt’s water rights, they will see our reaction. Again, I am not threatening, but our water is a red line ”, he emphasized.
Earlier on Friday, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Damaki Mekonnen confirmed that “Addis Ababa is currently moving towards the completion of the final stages of the (GERD) construction process.”
Speaking on the 10th anniversary of the dam’s inception, McKinnon said that the completion of the construction of the “GERD” is a top priority due to its historical and economic importance.
The Ethiopian official stressed: “Addis Ababa’s accession to benefit from the dam project and taking into account the concerns of the two downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan), and the commitment not to cause them any harm.
Since January 11, negotiations have stalled after the three countries hit a dead end on how to fill and operate the dam. But Sudan recently proposed four-party international mediation on file, with Egypt’s support, while Addis Ababa adheres only to African Union mediation.
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