Egypt Demands Fourth Int'l Party's Entry As Mediator In Talks On Renaissance Dam - Reports

Egypt Demands Fourth Int'l Party's Entry as Mediator in Talks on Renaissance Dam - Reports

Egypt's delegation to the tripartite negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam's construction in Sudan's capital of Khartoum requires the intervention of an international mediator, media reported on Friday

CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2019) Egypt's delegation to the tripartite negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam's construction in Sudan's capital of Khartoum requires the intervention of an international mediator, media reported on Friday.

According to the Sky news Arabia broadcaster, Egypt demanded the inclusion of a fourth international side as a mediator in the trilateral talks with its Sudanese and Ethiopian counterparts regarding the Renaissance Dam.

Addis Ababa hopes that the dam will turn Ethiopia into Africa's biggest electric power exporter, but Egypt and Sudan have been largely concerned about the project affecting their share of water and seriously damaging their national economies and agricultural sectors.

Earlier in the day, the United States expressed its support for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan's ongoing negotiations "to reach a cooperative, sustainable and mutually beneficial agreement on filling and operating the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam."

On Thursday, an official source in the Sudanese Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation press service told Sputnik that the irrigation ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia will start trilateral two-day talks on October 4 in Khartoum on the dam's construction.

The main issues being disputed are related to the volume of water to be released annually after the first stage of filling the reservoir. Egypt proposes an annual release of 40 billion cubic meters (1.4 trillion cubic feet), while Ethiopia insists on 35 billion cubic meters.