Ethiopia has brought to the attention of Sudan that the recent reports claiming that its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river started to fill up with water are incorrect, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday
CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th July, 2020) Ethiopia has brought to the attention of Sudan that the recent reports claiming that its Grand Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile river started to fill up with water are incorrect, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Ethiopia's EBC broadcaster ran a news piece, citing its Water and Irrigation Minister Seleshi Bekele, that the country had started to fill up the dam's reservoir. Hours later, the channel apologized for the inaccuracy of the article.
"The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has informed Sudan that [the news piece] that says that the Ethiopian authorities started filling up the Renaissance Dam, are not true," the ministry said in a statement.
Addis Ababa assured Khartoum that Bekele had not made such claims, according to the Sudanese side.
The statement came following a meeting between Sudanese Foreign Ministry official Babiker Siddiq Mohammed al-Amin and Ethiopian Charge d'Affairs Makunan Tiba on Thursday morning.
The rising of water level in the dam's lake occurred due to seasonal rainstorms, Tiba explained, noting that this is the natural process.
"[Ethiopia] is committed to continue negotiations, sponsored by the African Union, on the issue of the Renaissance Dam," the Ethiopian official added.
Addis Ababa's Grand Renaissance Dam, which is under construction on the Blue Nile river and set to become Africa's largest, is souring relations with Cairo and Khartoum, who fear the facility may undermine their own water security.
The three countries have held dozens of rounds of talks but have failed to agree on how soon the dam should be filled, and Addis Ababa sees this project as crucial for economic growth. Egypt has asked the UN Security Council to intervene in the talks to prevent any unilateral steps by Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has been pursuing the project since 2012. As of today, the dam's construction has been completed by over 74 percent, according to local news outlets.
