Page 9 - AfrElec Week 09 2021

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Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan again

fail to agree on future GERD talks

ETHIOPIA ETHIOPIA, Egypt and Sudan are again at log- parties involved in a bid to break the deadlock.
gerheads over the construction of the Grand Ethiopia’s Mufti said Ethiopia’s position dates
Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with back to the Declaration of Principles agreement,
Ethiopia opposing Egypt and Sudan’s current signed by all three countries in 2015, which
proposals to give stronger roles to the US, the called for Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia to agree on
EU and the UN. operational rules and guidelines.
Ethiopia has instead called for the African The current impasse dates back to January,
Union to step up its mediation efforts, dismiss- when Sudan abandoned the talks held by the
ing Egypt and Sudan’s position as “demeaning.” South African presidency of the AU.
Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesperson The impasse centres on both countries claim-
Dina Mufti said this week that Addis Ababa pre- ing they are negotiating in good faith. At stake
ferred to stick to African-Union-led talks, which are both Ethiopia’s access to hydroelectric power,
have so far failed to break the deadlock. and Egypt’s access to water flows in the River
“The tendency to invite various parties as Nile.
mediators to the issue while the AU-led negotia- Ethiopia, which started building the GERD in
tion has not been finalised is demeaning [to] the 2011, expects to produce more than 6,000 MW
efforts of the AU,” Mufti said. of electricity from the project.
Ethiopia’s support of the existing, though Egypt and Sudan, downstream Nile Basin
stalled, AU-backed negotiating framework fol- countries that rely on the river for its freshwater,
lowed calls by Sudan and Egypt for mediation are concerned that the dam might affect their
from international actors, such as the EU and water resources.
the US, to renew the talks. In previous talks, Cairo has wanted Ethiopia
However, Sudan and Egypt support Sudan’s to guarantee Egypt would receive 40bn cubic
proposals on developing a new negotiation metres or more of water from the Nile.
mechanism, which would bring in a so-called Ethiopia now claims that Egypt has aban-
international quartet. Although the current AU doned this demand, but Egypt insists it has not.
chair, the Democratic Republic of the Congo There was also a major row in the summer
(DRC), would be involved, other players such as of 2020, when Egypt claimed that Ethiopia had
the UN, the EU and the US would also mediate. begun to fill the dam at the site without agree-
The Foreign Ministers of Egypt and Sudan ment from the other two countries. Ethiopia
this week issued a joint statement calling on Ethi- claimed that rising water levels were a natural
opia to show goodwill and engage in talks in a bid summer process, and that construction was pro-
to reach a consensus. ceeding as normal.
Furthermore, this week Ugandan President Ethiopia has since stated that it again intends
Yoweri Museveni offered to host a summit for all to fill the reservoir in summer 2021.™

Week 09 04•March•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9