New Round of Negotiations in Cairo on Renaissance Dam

Arab World

November 30th, 8:13am

Khartoum - Asharq A-Awsat

Ethiopia's Grand Renaissance Dam is seen as it undergoes construction work on the river Nile in Guba Woreda, Benishangul Gumuz Region, Ethiopia September 26, 2019. Picture taken September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo

The Ministers of Irrigation and Water Resources in Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia are set to chair on Monday an experts meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Cairo. This would be the second meeting for experts and technicians out of four meetings agreed upon during talks held by the three countries’ foreign ministers in Washington on Nov. 6. Ethiopia’s construction of GERD on the Blue Nile began in 2012, but since then Egypt has sounded the alarm that the project would severely reduce its water supplies. Sudan’s Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources revealed in a statement that Minister Yasser Abbas would travel to Cairo on Saturday, heading the Sudanese delegation in the two-day meeting. The talks are aimed at discussing the first filling of the dam and the start of its operation by Jan. 15. The first was held in Addis Ababa mid-Nov. The third will take place in Khartoum in Dec. while the last is expected in Addis Ababa end of Dec. or the start of Jan. The three states have submitted their quarterly proposals on the dam’s first filling and operation. The minsters and technical teams discussed in Addis Ababa relevant issues that were agreed upon in Khartoum’s October meeting.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2014676/new-round-negotiations-cairo-renaissance-dam