Page 9 - AfrElec Week 15 2021

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Egypt, Sudan reject Ethiopian

GERD data sharing offer

EGYPT EGYPT and Sudan have rejected a new Ethi- Speaking in Cairo, Russian Foreign Minister
opian initiative to share data ahead of Addis Sergey Lavrov said this week that only through
Ababa’s planned second filling of the Nile Dam dialogue between the three nations could the
reservoir in the summer. dispute be settled, with the role of third parties
Earlier this week, Ethiopian Minister of restricted to the creation of conditions to help the
Water, Irrigation and Energy Seleshi Bekele for- talks move forward.
mally invited Sudan and Egypt to nominate dam “We will not play other roles and we were not
operators to exchange data before a second filling invited to mediate,” Lavrov said, arguing that the
of the GERD begins in July. African Union was the most suitable party to
However, Egypt and Sudan replied in two mediate in the talks, which began 10 years ago
separate statements that a legally binding agree- but have yet to bear fruit.
ment should precede data sharing on the dam “An African resolution reached through Afri-
filling. can efforts,” the veteran Russian minister said.
Ethiopia made the overture on the basis of the Egypt fears the dam will cut its vital share of
2015 Declaration of Principles the three coun- the Nile’s water, while Sudan says it wants Ethi-
tries signed on Ethiopia’s $5bn hydro dam on the opia to provide real-time data on the operation
main tributary of the Nile. and filling of the dam, to avoid destructive floods
The new offer from Ethiopia came after the and disruption of its own power-generating
latest round of African Union-mediated talks on dams on the Blue Nile.
the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Egypt has also been dismissive of recent Afri-
ended with a lack of conclusive agreement earlier can Union efforts to broker agreement, claiming
in April. that the AU’s involvement has failed to deal with
The three countries have continued to accuse Ethiopia’s continue unilateral filling of the dam.
the others of holding back talks. The two nations have for years been pressing
Meanwhile, Russia entered the fray this week Ethiopia to enter a legally binding deal that cov-
and offered to provide technical assistance to ers mechanisms for handling persistent drought
push forward the deadlocked negotiations. and resolving future disputes.™

Week 15 15•April•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9