CAIRO - 26 July 2020: Sudan is looking for a decisive round of negotiation with Egypt and Ethiopia over the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), calling for setting up a specific time and a clear agenda to address the outstanding points regarding the process of filling and operating the dam and future projects, Sudanese news agency SUNA reported a statement from the Sudanese Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation on Saturday.
Sudan called for the necessity of reaching a fair and binding agreement on the outstanding issues and that all parties should refrain from unilateral actions, praising the African Union’s statement regarding the latest mini-summit that convened between the leaders of the three countries on July 21, 2020.
During the AU-brokered summit, Ethiopia recognized that the first phase of filling the dam was conducted due to the heavy rainfall this year.
Sudanese Minister of Irrigation Yasser Abbas said that it was agreed at the mini-African summit, to continue negotiations to overcome the points of contention over the Renaissance Dam.
In a provocative move, the Ethiopian Television aired new footages, showing the Renaissance Dam lake filled, marking the completion of the first phase of the filling process, which reflects that the Ethiopian side has not been serious regarding the dam negotiations throughout the last period.
Conflicting statements by Ethiopian ministries of foreign affairs and irrigation were dominating news over the past weeks, declaring the filling of the reservoir then denying those statements and apologizing.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew tweeted in Amhari language, “It was previously the Nile River, now it is a lake. It will no longer flow back into the river. Ethiopia will use the lake to achieve all the developments it wants. In fact, the Nile is ours.”
Egypt has repeatedly assured its strong keenness to reach an agreement regarding the dam in a way that preserves the rights of the three countries.
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