Tripartite ministerial meeting on GERD to be held on Jan. 13

CAIRO - 10 December 2019: The foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan issued a joint statement on Tuesday announcing they would convene in Washington on January 13 aiming to reach an agreement on filling the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

The ministers declared they had noticed the progress achieved in the technical meetings of the water resources ministers of Egypt and Ethiopia. The statement reads that Ethiopia would follow the technical guidelines set to fill the reservoir and operate the dam; however, those guidelines can be amended by the three countries in accordance with changes in hydrological conditions.

The foreign ministers of the three countries stated that they look forward to their next meeting to review the outcomes of technical meetings and produce the final draft of the agreement saying they are fully aware of the importance of setting rules for GERD reservoir filling process and operation.

The statement of the ministers was issued on Monday evening after concluding their meeting in Washington upon the invitation of US Treasury Secretary Steven Terner Mnuchin and World Bank Group President David Malpass.

In another statement released by Foreign Minister Sameh Shokry and Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Mohamed Abdel Aati, both ministers stressed the importance of expressing goodwill in the negotiations.