Egypt announces ending GERD negotiation track due to ‘Ethiopia's refusal’ to all solutions

CAIRO - 19 December 2023: Egypt has announced on Tuesday the ending of the negotiation track between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which was launched to expedite the finalization of an agreement on the rules of filling and operation of the GERD within four months.

The announcement by Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation came after the concluding of the fourth and final round of negotiations on GERD in Addis Ababa.

According to the Ministry, the meeting was unsuccessful due to Ethiopia's ‘persistent refusal’, that marked its posture over the course of recent years, to accept any of the technical or legal compromise solutions that would safeguard the interests of all three countries, including Ethiopia's pronounced interests, as well as Ethiopia’s consistent backtracking on the understandings that were reached.

The Ministry affirmed that It has become evident that Ethiopia elects to continue exploiting the negotiation process as a cover to solidify a fait accompli on the ground, while negotiating exclusively for the purpose of obtaining an instrument of approval from the downstream countries of an unregulated and absolute Ethiopian control of the Blue Nile, in isolation from Ethiopia's obligations under international law.

“Given these Ethiopian positions, negotiation tracks have come to an end.” The statement read.

The Ministry said in the statement that Egypt will closely monitor the filling and operation of the GERD and reserves its right, in accordance with international charters and accords, to defend its water and national security in the event of harm.

The fourth round of negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) - on the ministerial level - kicked off Monday in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

On July 12, 2023, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Cairo, where they discussed enhancing Egyptian-Ethiopian relations, a statement by the Egyptian Presidency said.

During their meeting on the sidelines of the Sudan Neighboring States Summit, which Cairo will host on Thursday, Sisi and Ahmed discussed means of settling the Sudanese crisis. They also discussed developments of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.