Sudan has decided not to participate in tri-lateral ministerial negotiations on the long-standing Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute planned for Saturday, as Khartoum regards the negotiation's format to be inefficient, the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said on Saturday
BEIRUT (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2020) Sudan has decided not to participate in tri-lateral ministerial negotiations on the long-standing Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute planned for Saturday, as Khartoum regards the negotiation's format to be inefficient, the Sudanese Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources said on Saturday.
On Thursday, Sudanese Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Yasir Abbas wrote on Twitter that the country affirmed its "commitment to the AU-led negotiation process on the #GERD, but with a new modality that gives a role to the experts of the African Union to facilitate the negotiation process to reach an amicable and binding agreement and to avoid moving into close circles." This initiative was not supported by Egypt and Ethiopia.
"Sudan has decided not to participate in the ministerial negotiations on Al-Nahda [GERD] dam, which were set for the afternoon," the ministry said.
Since 2011, the Ethiopian government has pushed ahead with the construction of the GERD on the Blue Nile River. The project, which is set to become Africa's largest hydroelectric power plant, has been opposed by Egypt and Sudan, who fear that the dam will impact their water security. The talks between the three countries, which try to reach an agreement on the river's water distribution for over a decade, are being brokered by the African Union.
