Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan agree to support Renaissance Dam talks

The leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan agreed yesterday on the need to support technical talks on Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam.

According to a statement by the Egyptian presidency, this agreement came during a meeting between Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi with his Sudanese counterpart, Omar Al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed. The meeting was held on the side-lines of the African Union (AU) summit in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The statement said the tripartite meeting aimed to provide a political umbrella to support technical negotiations on the dam, overcome any obstacles to this and strengthen cooperation between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan.

The leaders also stressed the need to develop a common vision on the dam, so as not to harm the interests of their respective peoples and to work together towards development. In this context, Al-Sisi stressed the importance of working together to ensure a balanced and cooperative vision which achieves the interests of the three countries.

Sudan and Ethiopia were not immediately available for comment on the details of the meeting.

The Egyptian and Sudanese leaders concluded during a meeting last month that an agreement on Ethiopia’s Renaissance Dam should be reached as soon as possible. However, subsequent technical consultations between the three countries did not reach a solution satisfactory to the three parties.

Egypt is concerned that the Ethiopian dam would affect its share of the River Nile’s water, while Ethiopia says the dam will help it generate energy and will not harm Sudan and Egypt.

READ: Ethiopia to start producing energy from dam at end of 2020