Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia to discuss dam in ministerial meeting

CAIRO – 19 October 2017: Ministers of Irrigation from Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia agreed during the Tripartite National Committee meeting in Ethiopia to complete discussions over the renaissance dam in a ministerial meeting soon, according to a press statement from the Irrigation Ministry’s spokesman Wednesday.


The Egyptian Minister of Irrigation expressed during his speech in the meeting his appreciation to Ethiopia for organizing the visit to the Renaissance Dam, noting that the visit enabled them to have a look at the “development of the dam’s site, which needs urgent action to end discussions.”


Renaissance Dam – File Photo
The official spokesman of the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, Hussam al-Imam, stressed in the press statement that it has been confirmed that no water will be stored in the dam lake this year and nothing has been built that might hinder the water from reaching Egypt in any way.


President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi signed a tripartite joint cooperation agreement in Khartoum on March 23, 2015, between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The three countries held 14 rounds of consultation on resolving the disputes over the Renaissance Dam. However, these rounds failed to solve the dispute.


Consequently, the Nile Basin countries asked the French firm Artelia Group to join the French consulting group BRL Ingénierie in 2016, while they study the documents of the dam’s construction.