African Union Holds Mini-summit on Ethiopian Dam Next Tuesday

A satellite image shows the GERD and the Blue Nile on 26 June 2020 (Maxar Technologies- Reuters)

July 17, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Several African leaders next Tuesday will discuss the filling of Ethiopia’s giant hydropower dam on the Blue Nile after the failure of talks between the three riparian countries at the ministerial levels.

Talks to mediator Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president and African Union president who is preparing a new mini-summit.

The videoconference meeting on the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be held at the initiative of the South African President t Cyril Ramaphosa in his capacity as the Chairperson of the African Union.

"Sudan has received an invitation from the current president of the African Union to participate in a mini-summit on GERD on July 21," said Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasir Abbas in a tweet posted on Friday.

"We look forward to participating in the summit with a view to reaching a tripartite agreement on the filling and operating of the GERD," Abbas further said.

At the difference of the previous meetings, Ramaphosa is excepted to submit concrete proposals for the three parties on the filling process.

The three countries, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, have already their positions to the chairperson of the African Union. In these reports, every country expressed what it wants and why.

The three countries during the past rounds of talks have almost agreed on the technical issues but strongly diverge on the legally binding nature of the deal. and conflict resolution mechanism.

(ST)