KHARTOUM (Sudan Tribune)–Khartoum has proposed to hold a preparatory meeting for the irrigation ministers of Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt to pave the road for the ministerial committee on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) to reach an agreement on the dam impact studies.
The ministerial committee on the GERD including foreign affairs and irrigation ministers and heads of security and intelligence services in the three countries is scheduled to meet on 15 May in Addis Ababa.
The Sudanese proposal came at the end of a meeting of irrigation ministers in Addis Ababa on Saturday where the three countries submitted their observations and queries on the consultant’s introductory report.
During the meeting, the irrigation ministers of the three countries underlined desire to continue to cooperate in good spirit to reach an agreement on the impact studies and address concerns of all parties.
It is noteworthy that the introductory report determines the steps that would be undertaken by the consultants to complete the studies on the ecological, social and economic impact of the dam as well as the options for filling and operating the dam lake. Read the complete story at Sudan Tribune
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, PhD, made a two-day state visit to Khartoum on last week, where he was received by the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir and a number of senior Sudanese officials and diplomats accredited to Khartoum.
During his visit Prime Minister Abiy asserted that that the dam Ethiopia is building on the Nile River will not harm Egypt’s share of water supplies.
“We don’t have any intention to harm Sudan or Egypt,” said the Prime Minister, “all our discussion all our investment or utilization of the Nile would be based on the declaration of the principles the three countries [have] signed and agreed. In our opinion, utilization of Nile would benefit the three countries with insignificant harm. But he most important thing is to reduce, to minimize the downside of the project and we are doing that in a very responsible manner to protect… the interest of brotherly countries,” he added.
Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir also reiterated Khartoum’s support for the GERD project saying [in Arabic] ‘We have fully supported the dam since it was at its planning stage. We are assured that the share of Sudan and Egypt in Nile water is completely guaranteed.’
The Ethiopia-Sudan stand regarding the controversial project would be considered as a game-changer for the three countries, i.e. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan, which are in the center of then tension over Ethiopia’s mega project and have been holding a number of tripartite talks about it.