Involved parties in Nile dam hold talks to submit final reports to AU: Sudanese minister
Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have ended a most recent round of talks on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and agreed to submit their final reports to the African Union (AU), Sudan’s Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas said Monday.
“It has been agreed, at the conclusion of the round of talks, to submit the final report to the African Union prior to convening a mini-African summit,” said Abbas at a press conference in Khartoum.
He further explained that Sudan proposed consensual suggestions during the Nile dam talks regarding the legal and technical points of difference.
The three countries have been holding video meetings to discuss issues related to the filling and operation of the GERD under the patronage of South Africa, the current chair of the AU.
In March 2015, leaders of the three countries signed the declaration committed to reaching an agreement regarding the GERD through cooperation.
Ethiopia started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt, a downstream Nile Basin country that relies on the river for its fresh water, is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the water resources.
