The African Union has welcomed the resumption of talks among Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia on the Renaissance Dam project the latter is building over the Blue Nile River in its territory, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday.
Officially known as the Grand Renaissance Ethiopian Dam (GERD), the building of the multibillion dollar dam has brought misunderstandings among the three neighbours over the shared amount of water they would receive from the Blue Nile once the dam is operational.
“The resumed trilateral negotiation is an indication of the commitment of all parties to the GERD to dialogue as a means toward a peaceful, amicable, and durable solution taking into consideration all the dimensions of the GERD matter.
“By this act, the parties have demonstrated their commitment to an African-led process in the spirit of African solutions to African problems,” Ramaphosa, who is also the African Union chair, said.
The president said he was sincerely encouraged by the initial report he received on focused attention by all parties to the GERD talks in finding the desired solutions.
He added: “I wish to further implore the parties to proceed along this path in order to reach an agreement on all outstanding issues.”
The resumption of the talks follows a meeting of the African Union (AU)’s Bureau of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government held on 26 June.
Following that meeting, ministerial delegations from Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan, supported by technical experts, reconvened on 3 July 2020 to discuss the outstanding legal and technical issues pertaining to the GERD.
The GERD is one of the largest infrastructure projects in the continent and has the potential to be a catalyst for integration and development in the sub-region.
However, Egypt and Sudan fears that once the GERD is filled, their share of the Nile water would be reduced considerably to their detriment – especially in their irrigated agriculture and their economy as a whole which largely depends on the river.
NM/jn/APA