Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: November 8 (EI) – The foreign ministers of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have reaffirmed their joint commitment to reach a comprehensive and mutually beneficial agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The latest agreement among the three Nile-bound countries came as the three countries foreign ministers met in Washington, capital of the United States (U.S.) that was hosted by the U.S. Secretary of Treasury and the President of the World Bank in Washington DC on Wednesday.
The three countries foreign ministers – Gedu Andargachew of Ethiopia, Sameh Hassan Shoukry of Egypt and Asma Mohamed Abdalla of Sudan – in a joint communique that was issued after the Washington meeting “reaffirmed their joint commitment to reach a comprehensive, cooperative, adaptive, sustainable, and mutually beneficial agreement on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.”
Foreign ministers of the three countries also agreed to establish a clear process for fulfilling that commitment in accordance with the 2015 Declaration of Principles, as well as an agreement to hold four technical governmental meetings at the level of water ministers in attendance of the World Bank and the U.S. as observers.
In addition to Gedu, Ethiopia’s negotiating team during the Washington meeting also represented by Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation, and Energy as well as the Ethiopian Ambassador to the U.S., Fitsum Arega.
The three countries’ foreign ministers’ meeting came after a recent agreement between the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to the immediate resumption of the work by a technical committee trying to agree on the operating terms of the Dam.
The agreement among the two leaders’ was made on Oct. 23, during their meeting in Russia’s Sochi city on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Summit.
Also on Wednesday, the three countries’ foreign ministers also met with the U.S. President, Donald Trump, at the White House to discuss on issues concerning GERD.
“Just had a meeting with top representatives from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan to help solve their long-running dispute on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, one of the largest in the world, currently being built. The meeting went well and discussions will continue during the day!” Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
Last month, water and irrigation ministers of the three countries had also convened three-way negotiations in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan to discuss on GERD.
The Egyptian government, which noted that recent negotiations has reached a “dead end,” also on Saturday held Ethiopia responsible for the failure of the negotiations noting that the Ethiopian side “rejected all the proposals that would help Egypt avoid serious harms due to the construction of the dam,” Egypt’s state-run MENA news agency spokesman for Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Mohamed Sibai, as saying.
On October 6, the Ethiopian Prime Minister had also emphasized his country’s resolve to “reinforce its effort to make the ongoing trilateral dialogue a success. It also expects a similar commitment from the two downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan.”
“Ethiopia reiterates rights of all the 11 basin countries of the Nile to utilize Nile waters based on principles of equitable utilization and causing of no significant harm, which underlines the right of Ethiopia to develop its water resources to meet dev’t needs of its people,” Abiy said in a Twitter post on October 6.
The Ethiopian premier also stressed that his country “stands ready to resolve any differences and outstanding concerns by consultation among the three countries.”
The Ethiopian government had also recently accused Egypt’s latest proposal to have crossed the “red line” from the East African country’s perspective.
“The proposal crossed the red line drawn by Ethiopia,” state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate (FBC) quoted officials at the Ethiopian Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Energy as saying.
The ministry, which noted that Egypt’s new proposal regarding the filling of GERD “has remained a point of disagreement between the two countries,” also announced Ethiopia’s rejection of the proposal.
“Ethiopia rejected the proposal because the construction of the dam is an issue of national survival and sovereignty. The proposal also crossed the red line drawn by Ethiopia,” Tefera Beyen, Border and Cross-Border Rivers Affairs Advisor at the ministry.
The GERD project, located at close proximity to the Ethiopia-Sudan border about 500-km northwest of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa along the Blue Nile river (a major tributary to the Nile river), once completed will be the largest dam in Africa – with 1,800-m long and 155-m high, according to the Italian contractor Salini Impregilo.
