Page 4 - AfrElec Week 23

AfrElec COMMENTARY AfrElec

Little hope for GERD

talks this week

Both Egypt and Ethiopia have failed to offer any hope of compromise in the GERD dispute,
despite efforts by Sudan to restart talks, writes Richard Lockhart

ETHIOPIA HOPES of any resumption in talks between Al-Sisi held telephone talks with US President
Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over completing Donald Trump on June 10, where he brought up
WHAT: construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renais- the GERD issue.
Egypt, Ethiopia, and sance Dam (GERD) were rekindled this week as US involvement is crucial, as Washington had
Sudan are talking again online talks are held between the three countries. hosted abortive talks on the GERD project in
this week about GERD Talks began on June 10 after Sudanese efforts February that ended in failure as the Ethiopians
to get Egypt and Ethiopia to resume negotiations returned home without any agreement.
WHY: “in order to reach a comprehensive and satisfac- Al-Sisi’s words were directed at Ethiopia, as
Ethiopia insists it will tory agreement that meets the interests of the Cairo accuses Addis Ababa of failing to keep to
continue construction three countries.” the 2015 Declaration.
with or without an Ahead of the talks, both Egypt and Ethiopian
agreement with Egypt. leaders set out their positions this week, but did Ethiopian position.
Mediation has failed not give any indication that they anticipated a Indeed, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s
breakthrough. statement to his country’s parliament earlier this
WHAT NEXT: The virtual meeting was attended by inter- week insisted that Ethiopia would go ahead with
With few signs of any national observers from the US, the European finishing the dam.
compromise, the talks Union and South Africa, the current chair of the However, he gave no concrete details about
in all probability will fail African Union. seeking to move the talks with Egypt forward.
again “It is hard to describe the meeting as positive Abiy defended Ethiopia’s record on the GERD
or [to say] it has reached any significant result, as project, and reiterated his country’s determina-
it has focused on procedural issues that are rel- tion to finish construction.
evant to the schedule of the meetings, the refer- “We have amicably resolved the dam’s elec-
ence of the discussion, and the role and number tromechanical problems that delayed the civil
of the observers,” the Egyptian Irrigation Minis- construction, and other related works,” he noted,
try said in a statement. adding that the project evaluation and control
had also been made dependable and standard.
Egyptian position He also said the entire construction was pro-
Ahead of the talks, both parties again outlined gressing as planned and had reached the filling
their positions, which have not changed since of the reservoir.
February. “For us, GERD is a matter of development
The Egyptian side said early on that it urged and national identity that will not hurt Egypt
Ethiopia not to take any unilateral action with and Sudan,” he said. “No one can stop us from
regards to filling the dam until a tripartite agree- completing the dam.”
ment is reached. Abiy also stressed that negotiations had
Egypt’s position is that the talks have so far reached the final phase, without providing fur-
been fruitless, and Cairo has failed to accept ther details.
Ethiopia’s reassurances that the project would
not affect water supplies from the River Nile in Sudan’s hopes
Egypt. Meanwhile, Sudan stressed in a statement that it
“A timeline must be set to finish up negotia- was more exposed to the effects of filling the dam
tions, so it does not turn into a new tactic of stall- with Nile water, given the GERD’s closeness to
ing and shirking responsibility from the 2015 the Sudanese-Ethiopian border.
Declaration of Principles which all three coun- In particular, the Roseires Dam, which is in
tries agreed to,” Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah South Sudan, is located close to the GERD site,
al-Sisi’s office said in a statement on June 9 ahead and any change to this dam caused by GERD
of the talks. would affect both South Sudan and Sudan the
Al-Sisi added that Ethiopia was “inconsist- most.
ent” with its legal obligations and “casts a shadow On the other hand, Sudan is keen on the pro-
over the negotiations.” ject, as it will receive much needed hydropower

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