CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2019) The foreign ministers of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are scheduled to hold consultations over the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on November 6 in the United States at the invitation of Washington, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said Tuesday.
"The US administration invited three states - Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan - on November 6," Shoukry said, as quoted by Al Ahram newspaper, and added the Egypt "seeks to cooperate and resolve all issues via the diplomatic channels."
Since 2012, Ethiopia has been building what would become Africa's largest hydroelectric power plant when completed. Experts believe that when the GERD is launched, it will inevitably lead to water shortages in downstream-located Sudan and Egypt. The three states have held over a dozen talks since the start of the construction, but the disagreements persist.�
The controversy spiked last week after media misquoted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as declaring his country's readiness to wage war, if needed, to defend its right for the GERD's construction.
On October 24, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed agreed to resume negotiations, in particular by resuming "the operation of the independent technical negotiating commission in a more open and positive format." The agreement was reached at the Russia-Africa Summit and Economic Forum in Sochi.
