Egypt asks Ethiopia to resume negotiations over 'Renaissance Dam'

Ethiopia has received an official letter from Egypt suggesting the resumption of negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan over the Renaissance Dam, a senior Ethiopian official has said.

Turkish news agency Anadolu quoted the director of the Ethiopian department of trans-border rivers, Faqih Ahmed, as saying that the Egyptian irrigation ministry had suggested trilateral negotiations between Cairo, Khartoum and Addis-Ababa to discuss the construction of Ethiopia’s multibillion-dollar hydroelectric dam on the upper reaches of the Nile.

Faqih also noted that the presidents of Ethiopia and Egypt had met last week on the margins of an African Summit held in Guinea and agreed to resume the negotiations on the basis that all refrain from harming the other. He also noted that his country is studying the Egyptian suggestion.

Meanwhile, spokesperson of the Egyptian irrigation ministry Khalid Wasif confirmed to Anadolu that Egypt has called for the Ethiopians to resume trilateral negotiations in Cairo in the middle of July.

“After an agreement on the negotiations, it is natural reach a deal,” Wasif said. “The Egyptian irrigation minister sent a letter to his counterpart on this issue and [the Ethiopian side] agreed on the resumption of talks,” he added.

Earlier this year, Ethiopia accused Egypt of carrying out a propaganda campaign regarding the Renaissance Dam. Egypt responded by saying that Ethiopia had closed the road to negotiations over the dam.