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KHARTOUM, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) – Sudan on Saturday called for the negotiation on the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to be elevated from the ministerial level to the level of head of state.
“The negotiation must rise from the level of ministers to the level of the presidents of the three countries through the African Union in order to provide political support to the negotiations,” said Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources, Yasir Abbas, at a press conference in the capital. Khartoum.
“Continuing negotiations in the current form will not be effective,” Abbas added, noting Sudan’s commitment to negotiate anytime, anywhere.
Reaching an agreement on the Nile dam talks needs a decision from the highest political leaders of the three countries, he explained.
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia concluded their latest round of dam talks on Friday without reaching consensus on a draft agreement regarding GERD that should have been presented to the African Union on Friday.
Ethiopia, which began building the GERD in 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 megawatts of electricity through the project.
However, Egypt and Sudan, downstream Nile basin countries that depend on the river for fresh water, are concerned that the dam could affect their water resources. Final product
