CAIRO: A new round of negotiations between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile, began Sunday in the Egyptian capital, with both Cairo and Khartoum fearing will affect them.
“A new round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) kicked off Sunday morning in Cairo with the participation of negotiating delegations from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia,” the Egyptian Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation said in a statement.
The statement quoted Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Dr. Hani Sweilam as saying that these negotiations aim to reach an agreement that “takes into account the interests and concerns of the three countries,” stressing “the importance of stopping any unilateral steps in this regard.”
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed last month to finalize within four months an agreement on filling and operating the dam.
Their meeting came on the sidelines of a meeting of Sudan’s neighbours in an attempt to resolve the crisis it is witnessing due to the power struggle between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.
Since 2011, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia have been negotiating an agreement on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), but long rounds of negotiations between the three countries have so far yielded no agreement.
Although Egypt and Sudan have repeatedly urged Ethiopia to postpone its plans to fill the dam’s reservoir until a comprehensive agreement is reached, Addis Ababa announced on June 22 that it is ready to launch the fourth phase of filling the dam’s reservoir, which has a capacity of about 74 billion cubic meters of water.
Egypt relies on the Nile River to meet 97% of its water needs.
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is located on the Blue Nile in the Bani Shangoul-Qomez area, about 30 km from the border with Sudan. It is 1.8 km long and 145 meters high.
In February 2022, Ethiopia officially inaugurated electricity production from the dam, which it presents as among the largest in Africa with a construction cost of more than four billion dollars. Its production target has been revised from 6,500 to 5,000 megawatts, double Ethiopia’s current production, and is expected to reach full capacity in 2024.
