Egypt's Water Ministry said that the fourth round of negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile river ended with no clear conclusion
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th January, 2020) Egypt's Water Ministry said that the fourth round of negotiations between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile river ended with no clear conclusion.
The trilateral talks at the level of water ministers took place on Thursday evening in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa to discuss technical issues.
"The three countries were unable to reach consensus on the Renaissance Dam water filling in the different hydrological regimes of the Blue Nile river and the lack of clear measures from the Ethiopian side to preserve the dam's ability to face various consequences in the result of its operations," the ministry said.
In November, the foreign ministers of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have agreed to settle the row over the GERD by January 15. The next meeting will be occurred in Washington on January 13 to assess the progress.
Ethiopia began building what is expected to become Africa's biggest hydroelectric power site in 2011. However, tensions subsequently emerged between Addis Ababa and Cairo, with the latter expressing concerns that Egypt alongside Sudan, both located downstream, might experience water shortages due to the project. The sides have since held multiple rounds of talks on the matter.
