Egypt and Sudan hope to reach agreement with Ethiopia on dam

Egypt and Sudan reiterated on Tuesday the importance of reaching a legally binding agreement with Ethiopia on the filling and operation of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, it has been reported.

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry and his Sudanese counterpart Mariam Sadiq Al-Mahdi hold a press conference in Cairo that they are calling on Ethiopia to show goodwill and resume talks over the dam.

Shoukry said that Egypt supports Sudan’s suggestion and added his voice to the call for international mediation, involving a quartet composed of the UN, EU, US, and African Union (AU) in order to reach an agreement with Ethiopia. The Sudanese proposed this last week to a delegation from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the current chair of the African Union.

Ethiopia finished the first filling of the reservoir behind the dam last year without the approval of Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopian officials have already announced that the second filling of the reservoir will start in July. According to Al-Mahdi, however, this endangers the lives of 20 million Sudanese citizens.

“We are now coming to an important stage after the previous rounds of negotiations,” said Shoukry. He rejected “unilateral actions” or policies that present others with a fait accompli, saying that they may force Egypt to abandon its positive foreign policy. It is not possible to sustain “endless” negotiations, he pointed out.

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